Subaru Parent Fuji Heavy Industries Offers Details on Electric Stella Vehicle Sales
By Greg Johnson April 15, 2009
Subaru parent Fuji Heavy Industries has released a bit more information about the Electric Stella
, which will enter the Japanese battery-electric vehicle market this summer.
According to Global Insight, an economics and business consulting and analysis firm, Kyodo News (subscription required) is reporting that Fuji will manufacture about 170 Electric Stella vehicles during its current fiscal year (which ends in 2010) and around 200 units during the following fiscal year. Kyodo reports that pricing is still up in the air, but that the cars initially will be marketed to corporate and government fleet buyers when sales begin in July.
The plug-in Electric Stella blends EV technology employed in the Subaru R1e electric vehicle with the conventionally powered Subaru Stella minicar that is sold in Japan. Fuji jointly developed the R1e with Tokyo Electric Power, a leading Japanese utility.
Global Insight sees two immediate hurdles for the Electric Stella vehicle - the model's anticipated high initial cost and "strong competition" from Mitsubishi's iMiEV, which also is scheduled to go on sale in Japan this summer.
Greg Johnson, Contributor
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