Subaru to Kill Stella Electric in 2012

Launched in 2009, the electric flavor of Subaru Stella could see its end after only three years of production. It appears that the Japanese manufacturer is considering a potential discontinuation of the electric model next year when the company will also kill the regular Stella and thus step out from the minivehicle segment.

A report by The Japan Times claims that Subaru hasn't decided on the moment to discontinue its only electric vehicle but, in case such a move would indeed take place, it would happen sometime in 2012.

Stella EV was launched in July 2009 and Subaru had a goal to deliver approximately 400 units of the range by March 2011. One of the first EVs to hit the market, the Stella used an electric motor that generated 63 horsepower and a maximum torque of 170 Nm. Stella can be re-charged up to 80 percent of its capacity in 15 minutes using the quick charging system, whereas it’s also fully rechargeable in 8 hours with AC100V household power outlet or 5 hours with AC200V.

Subaru hasn't mentioned why exactly it plans to pull the plan on the world's first production electric vehicle but the company could also develop an alternative that would tackle the growing demand in this particular sector.

Furthermore, the aforementioned source claims that Subaru intends to fully abandon the minivehicle sector of the auto industry, which means the Japanese car producer would try to concentrate on the rest of the models, so more fuel efficient powerplants are likely to be introduced in the future.