The Subaru electric car line includes the Stella, and the R1e. The Stella is a small boxy van and the R1e a more sporty coupe type car. These vehicles have gotten a lot of press, and testing. The plan was to market 170 Stella vans…the Stella went on sale in Japan this last summer. Neither car appears on the Subaru main site at this time. The cars are not yet for sale outside of Japan.
The Stella is offered in a gasoline version as well as electric. It appears that Subaru plans to offer 170 of the electric vans for sale in Japan. The Company wants to test the vehicles in Japan first stating that, "The Subaru Electric Van is years away from a U.S. debut."
There was a Stéla electric car made in Italy back in the 1940s. The Subaru electric car name "Stella" is Italian for "star". The star today refers to the Subaru logo.
That may have been the last Stella EV. Subaru has pulled the plug on production in 2011 after some 400 were manufactured.
R1e
The R1e has made a few rounds of US Auto shows with limited road testing. A few independent road tests of the R1e have rated the car well for in town commuting, which is what it was designed for.
Subaru along with other leading Japanese manufacturers recognize that there are still range limitations. They are working together in efforts to increase range through programs of research and testing.
For cars like the Stella and R1e, the only way to increase performance right now is to increase the size of the battery pack. Increasing pack size increases weight, and cost as well. It appears that the manufacturers have noticed the performance limitations inherent with the current Subaru designs and seem to be working on solutions.
Subaru R1e Specs:
Range - 50 miles/80 km average
Top Speed - 65 mph/104 kph
Electric Motor - 40.3 kW/54 hp
Energy Storage - 9.2 kWh - just over 1 quart/Liter Gasoline equivalent
Kerb Weight - 1,914 lbs/870 kg
Wt/HP - 35 lbs/1 hp
Charge at home - 8 hours
80% quick charge 3-phase charger - 30 minutes
