Toyota will build Subaru 3-row EV in Kentucky, sources say

Toyota will build a new three-row electric crossover in 2025 in Kentucky for Subaru shortly after it starts building its own version, which is tentatively called the bZ5X, said people with knowledge of the plans.

The strategy follows the earlier collaboration between the two Japanese automakers on launching the Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Solterra compact crossovers in 2022. Toyota assembled those vehicles in Japan. Their initial sales were halted for months, however, because their wheels would fall off.

The name and other details of Subaru's three-row electric crossover have not been announced, though the company said in May that it planned four battery-powered crossovers in its lineup by 2026.

Like the bZ5X, it is expected to receive its batteries from the plant that Toyota has under construction in Liberty, N.C., which is scheduled to begin production in 2025. The final assembly location and battery sourcing may allow both vehicles to qualify for the full $7,500 federal tax credit for purchases under the Inflation Reduction Act, which neither the bZ4X or Solterra do.

With those smaller crossovers, Toyota led on manufacturing while Subaru contributed its off-road prowess. The joint development and production strategy gives Subaru a larger EV while allowing it to continue to run at top speed its U.S. assembly plant in Lafayette, Ind., where the smaller Japanese automaker builds the ICE-powered Ascent, Outback and Crosstrek crossovers and Legacy sedan.

A spokesman for Subaru of America declined to comment. A spokesman for Toyota Motor North America also declined to comment.

Parent company Subaru Corp., during an early Wednesday midterm meeting with analysts and journalists, committed to adding future EV output in the U.S., but would not confirm specific models or production sites.

Subaru CEO Atsushi Osaki said Subaru was still considering its approach.

“As a matter of course, we have been collaborating with Toyota on BEVs for a long time,” Osaki said. “So, we will make use of that know-how in producing BEVs. We have yet to consider whether the two companies will jointly manufacture BEVs in the U.S.”

Toyota owns about 20 percent of Subaru, which holds a 0.3 percent stake in Toyota.

Retooling Toyota's 9-million-square-foot Georgetown assembly plant for the two EVs is part of a $461 million investment announced in 2021. Workers at the complex make the Camry, Camry Hybrid, RAV4 Hybrid and Lexus ES, as well as four- and six-cylinder engines. Production of hydrogen fuel cell drivetrains for heavy-duty trucks is set to begin in December. Production of the ES will be phased out from Georgetown in 2025; the luxury sedan will continue to be built in Japan.

Toyota has announced investments of $5.9 billion in its nascent North Carolina battery plant, where it will operate six battery production lines, four for hybrid vehicles and two for electric vehicles.

Toyota plans to release 10 EV models globally by 2026 and has said it would invest more than $37 billion in EV development and production through decade's end.

Hans Greimel contributed to this report.