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Subaru PHEV possible next year, pure EV in 2021

Despite what its larger competitors are doing, Subaru has avoided the draw to create its own electric vehicle. Tighter emissions regulations around the globe, though, have the company reconsidering its options. The company is pouring a record amount of money into research and development, according to a report from Bloomberg, and that includes EV technology. Also, Subaru could introduce a plug-in hybrid as early as next year, and an all-electric vehicle by 2021. Subaru CEO Yasuyuki Yoshinaga tells Bloomberg that the company doesn't need a dedicated platform for battery-powered cars, and will likely put plugs into existing models. This way, the automaker doesn't have to partner with another company beyond finding a supplier for the motor and battery, and can extract the full value out of its current nameplates. A previous report suggests that Subaru would electrify the Outback or the Forester, but Yoshinaga doesn't confirm this in his interview with Bloomberg. Instead he uses a model that recently ditched its hybrid version in a hypothetical example: "If there's already an attractive Subaru model, for example the XV crossover, and if a customer in Beijing wants one but is only allowed to buy an electric vehicle, if there's no electric version then he can't buy it. Providing the choice of an EV means the customer can still desire the same Subaru." As for sourcing the battery, Yoshinaga says that a decision would have to come in about a year, and Panasonic and Samsung are possibilities. In addition to EVs, Subaru will use some of its $1.2 billion in funds set aside for R&D for the year ending in March, 2018 on driver assist technology, autonomous driving, and connected vehicles. Related Video:

CCTV footage shows Red Bull trophy heist going down

Any Formula One team knows the deal: you train, you prepare, you make the best car possible and put it in the hands of the best people you can get. But then out of nowhere another driver crashes into one of yours and your race is over. That's just the way it goes sometimes, but even that didn't prepare Red Bull Racing for the crash that happened at its headquarters last month. That's when some bandits drove a silver Subaru Legacy wagon backwards through the front door of the team's headquarters in Milton Keynes, UK, and made off with a bunch of the trophies displayed in the lobby. Now video footage from a closed-circuit television camera has surfaced, showing the crime go down in a brief twelve-second clip. It was a senseless crime since most of the trophies don't have much intrinsic value, and it's not exactly like they could sell them to someone else. All it accomplished was to damage the team's facility and demoralize the men and women who worked so hard to win those trophies – many of which ended up dumped in a nearby lake. News Source: BBC via YouTube, World Car Fans Motorsports TV/Movies Subaru F1 security trophy heist

Subaru investing $400 million for Impreza production in Indiana

As a part of a goal to increase its US sales tally up to 500,000 annual units by the end of the decade, Subaru is investing $400 million in its Lafayette, IN assembly plant in order to start building the Impreza in 2016. According to Automotive News, about half of that investment will be for a new paint plant while another big chunk will be used to extend the assembly line to allow for the increased capacity.
Currently, Subaru's Lafayette plant is responsible for building about 200,000 Legacy, Outback and Tribeca models each year (not including around 100,000 Toyota Camry sedans), but Subaru-specific output will be increased to 300,000 units, requiring an additional 900 new hires as well. Although a previous report suggested the Forester and Impreza would be moving Stateside, this AN article only mentions the hatchback and sedan versions of the Impreza being added to Lafayette - and no mention of the closely related XV Crosstrek.