On your mark... Subaru starts up Stella EV production
Subaru Stella EV - Click above for gallery
Mitsubishi made history this past week by being the first major automaker to begin series production of an electric car, the i MiEV. Subaru didn't want its rival to get all the media love, and it immediately announced that it, too, had begun making the Stella EV. While the production numbers for the Stella are not as high as for the i MiEV - Subaru will only make 170 - it's safe to say that the electric car race has now been joined. Deliveries for the Stella EV will start in Japan next month.
The Stella EV uses a 47 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that can charge in five hours from a 220-volt plug (or from 110V). A quick-charge system can fill the battery 80 percent in just 15 minutes. The car can go about 55 miles on a charge and has a top speed of 62 mph. Not great for the highway, but just about perfect for city use. Interested? The Stella will cost more than the i MiEV, ¥4,700,000 ($47,600 U.S.) to ¥4,380,000 ($45,500). Buyers of both cars can get up to ¥1.38 million back from the Japanese government.
Gallery: Subaru Stella EV
[Source: Green Car Advisor]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
jharlan 8:05PM (6/06/2009)
It's a good looking practical vehicle with about 1/3 the necessary range, and 2 times the necessary price. It's a good starting point, but EVs still have a way to go for universal acceptance.
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polo 12:37PM (6/07/2009)
EV's can be profitably sold just by catering to specific markets. If you think a car has to be "universally accepted" to be successful, you don't know much about the car business. And this is obviously a test-fleet rollout, which EVERY automaker (including GM) is doing before their mass release. The mass-produced version almost definitely will be repriced for the US and possibly have different specs depending on feedback.
steven 8:12PM (6/06/2009)
Something doesnt add up in those specs. A 47KwH pack and a range of only 55 miles? The few EVs that I have seen that published figures gave numbers around 200-300 Wh/Mile, so they either only have a 16.5KwH pack, or are only gettting 850 Wh/Mile :(
Plus from other posts a 16KwH pack is reckoned to cost around $20-30K, so I have to think that they actually have a 16KwH pack, and not a 47KwH pack. A 47KwH pack is in the same league as the Tesla roadster, which costs the wrong side of $100K :(
Regardless of the specs, its still very expensive, and with only 170 cars being produced, chances of seeing one here in the US look pretty slim :(
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paulwesterberg 11:14PM (6/06/2009)
GM says their 16kWh pack is hundreds less than 1k per kWh which puts their estimated cost around 10k for the batter. Granted they are not in actual full production of the volt yet so their per model costs are probably quite a bit higher.
jake 11:17PM (6/06/2009)
Definitely a typo. It's a 47kW motor that it has.
Nick P. 8:44PM (6/06/2009)
This is great. They are positioning themselves ahead of the Volt, Tesla and Fisker. At one point, volume will rise and start competing with the Prius, which will force Toyota & Honda into releasing a plug-in of their own.
Competition, that's waht we need in EVs.
- Nick -
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win39 9:21PM (6/06/2009)
Well. An EV for 50K dollars that goes about 50 miles and goes a little faster than 50mph. Going into production. Will they sell one? I wish Subaru had spent their apparently limited development resources to certify their diesel for the US. they would sell a lot of those and actually have some impact.
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Davsot 10:25PM (6/06/2009)
On your marks... Get set.... GO!
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RAN 10:46PM (6/06/2009)
Jeez, and you guys thought the Coda EV was ugly and not worth the money??? It looks like a freaking Bentley next to this thing. :-)
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jake 11:19PM (6/06/2009)
This thing is suffering severly from low volume, 170 is less than Tesla's volume, so the expensive price isn't too suprising.
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John Rowell 11:38PM (6/06/2009)
So Subaru makes 170 and Mitsubishi makes just a few more. Well that doesn't impress me. That is not what I call "EV production" ... "EV experimentation" might be more like it. Wake me up when a car company begins some *real* EV production.
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CaramelZappa 1:52AM (6/07/2009)
It's not ideal but it's a good start. Before now the only electric car manufacturers were a bit of a joke, with the Zapp cars and such. Tesla and Fisker have shown much more promise for the electric car, But it's pretty amazing that two major car manufacturers are taking ev's this seriously.
Yes, it's a very small number of cars made, but it's because the demand is still small since the technology is in it's infancy. Right now electric cars are still a niche market, which I hope will change, but these limited production cars are a great start in the right direction.
polo 1:27PM (6/07/2009)
So Subaru makes 170 and Mitsubishi makes just a few more. Well that doesn't impress me. That is not what I call "EV production" ... "EV experimentation" might be more like it.
Yeah. Its called a "test fleet". Even Chevy is pre-releasing a couple hundred Volts before they do the full release. Mitsubitchi has already upped their production numbers for the imev to around 20K worldwide.
Stan Wellaway 5:27AM (6/07/2009)
This is surely just a holding move - to emphasise Subaru's presence in the queue - ahead of finalising the launch of the (overdue) Subaru R1e and the later launch of its bigger brother
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_R1e
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Stan Wellaway 6:00AM (6/07/2009)
And look at this news from China in today's (UK) Sunday Times newspaper
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/features/article6432436.ece
Up to 250miles per UK gallon - and affordable. (If they can tidy up the quality issues and get through the crash tests - which the Terios did but this has 660lbs of battery onboard - compared with what previous engine/transmission weight?)
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Mark 10:39AM (6/07/2009)
Hold on if they are only selling 170 each priced at 47k that is not a bad price for something that is pretty much a pre-roll out. I expect them to sell it on mass at half that price.
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fred schumacher 10:46AM (6/07/2009)
This again demonstrates the Achilles' Heel of electric cars, massive up front costs and limited performance in exchange for lower fuel costs. It emphasizes the importance of rethinking vehicle morphology in the design of battery powered electric vehicles. Weight and size is of extreme importance. Since 86% of the time we drive alone, and since most battery powered cars are seen as commuter vehicles, manufacturers need to reconsider the size, shape, and passenger carrying capability of these cars. A $40,000+ commuter car has a limited market. A $15,000 car would be viable, but considering today's technology and battery cost levels, such a car would of necessity be small and seat no more than two.
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DasBoese 11:25AM (6/07/2009)
As much as it leaves to be desired price-wise, this is an important step. We now have two established auto companies offering an EV for sale. Not for lease, not as a giveaway for testing, but for sale as a finished product. Others will follow with better products and once the competition is on, it's not going to stop.
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why not the LS2LS7? 3:53PM (6/07/2009)
This is great news. The more EVs there are out there, the closer we will get to getting an EV infrastructure that makes it possible to use a
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kert 5:03PM (6/07/2009)
Apparently small city EVs will be popular around the world, next year
http://www.energyharvestingjournal.com/articles/bluecar-uses-electrodynamic-photovoltaic-harvesting-00001463.asp
Bollore/Pininfarina have begun accepting orders for theirs
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