Subaru may switch to Toyota hybrid system
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Subaru may switch to Toyota hybrid system
Subaru is delaying its first gasoline-electric hybrid car, originally due next year, reportedly because it is considering buying hybrid systems directly from Toyota.
Subaru is too small to be able to justify production of its own system and can't sufficiently reduce production costs, according to a report in Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper. Subaru would therefore scrap its own system, and roll out a Toyota-powered car in 2008. In return, Subaru's parent Fuji would supply Toyota with advanced lithium-ion batteries for use in hybrids.
The move also suggests General Motors' rival hybrid system is unsuitable for Subaru. GM has a shareholder stake in Subaru and has recently denied reports it, too, is getting into bed with Toyota on hybrids. GM is jointly developing a hybrid system with DaimlerChrysler, but this is focused initially more on larger vehicles with engine displacements of greater than 4.5 liters.
Subaru's choice could be more to do with timing — Toyota's system is available now, whereas the GM-DaimlerChrysler system is still under development.
Whatever the reason, the hybrid marketplace is starting to resemble the video-format wars of the 1980s. Toyota's system is emerging as the "VHS" of the hybrid powertrain market — and rival systems such as Honda's or GM-DaimlerChrysler's risk becoming the equivalent of "Beta."
Toyota gambled on hybrids years ago with the original Prius. Now it's getting the payback as other automakers sign lucrative license deals. The consumer will have a few hybrid options to choose from, but the Toyota system is breaking away at this point.
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=105644
Subaru is too small to be able to justify production of its own system and can't sufficiently reduce production costs, according to a report in Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper. Subaru would therefore scrap its own system, and roll out a Toyota-powered car in 2008. In return, Subaru's parent Fuji would supply Toyota with advanced lithium-ion batteries for use in hybrids.
The move also suggests General Motors' rival hybrid system is unsuitable for Subaru. GM has a shareholder stake in Subaru and has recently denied reports it, too, is getting into bed with Toyota on hybrids. GM is jointly developing a hybrid system with DaimlerChrysler, but this is focused initially more on larger vehicles with engine displacements of greater than 4.5 liters.
Subaru's choice could be more to do with timing — Toyota's system is available now, whereas the GM-DaimlerChrysler system is still under development.
Whatever the reason, the hybrid marketplace is starting to resemble the video-format wars of the 1980s. Toyota's system is emerging as the "VHS" of the hybrid powertrain market — and rival systems such as Honda's or GM-DaimlerChrysler's risk becoming the equivalent of "Beta."
Toyota gambled on hybrids years ago with the original Prius. Now it's getting the payback as other automakers sign lucrative license deals. The consumer will have a few hybrid options to choose from, but the Toyota system is breaking away at this point.
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=105644
