Subaru's outlay shows the all-wheel drive specialist is finally turning its focus to full-electric vehicles after introducing its first serious contender, the Solterra crossover, only this year.

The Solterra, Subaru's first global EV, offers the brand's trademark all-wheel-drive setup. But on the outside, it shares a lot with Toyota.

Subaru CEO Tomomi Nakamura said the automaker was also hit by rising raw material costs. The automaker's global sales fell 13 percent to 200,000 in the quarter.

The brand is banking on its awd off-road cred to set its new Solterra EV apart from Tesla and other rivals as it tiptoes into electric vehicles.

Subaru's output fell 20 percent to 207,000 in the quarter, while deliveries plummeted 35 percent to 173,000 in the same period.

The brand plans to overhaul its product development strategy to boost its growing interest in an EV future.

U.S. inventory has dipped to a super-tight five-day supply, and the all-wheel-drive niche brand is adding about 10,000 vehicles a month to a backlog of orders.

CEO Tomomi Nakamura predicts rebound to 650,000 sales in 2022, but expects 2021 volume in Japanese automaker's most important market to fall short of 600,000.

Japan's top automaker believes technological breakthroughs, such as hydrogen engines, can give internal combustion a new lease on life — saving jobs as well as the environment.

Japan's automakers are stoking R&D investment to meet mounting demand for a staggering array of technologies. Toyota by far outpaces the pack.