Subaru of New Zealand has confirmed it will land its first-ever battery electric vehicle (BEV), the Solterra, here in December.
It will come in two variants: Solterra and Solterra Touring, both with dual-motor all-wheel drive (as is the Subaru way). With a 71.4kWh battery and 160kW peak power split evenly between front and rear, Subaru is claiming a range of 465km for the base model and 414km for the more lavishly equipped (and larger-wheeled) Touring.
Both cars will offer an X-Mode AWD setting, similar to that on current Subaru combustion-engined cars. Size-wise, Solterra (the name is a portmanteau of Latin words for “sun” and “earth”) sits between Forester and Outback.
The entry car rides on 18in rims and features 10-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, front seat heaters and a power tailgate. The Touring adds 20in wheels, wireless phone charging, memory front seats, leather upholstery, uprated audio and heated steering wheel/rear seats.
The Touring can also be specified with a two-tone exterior colour pack: grey and white can be combined with a black roof.
Pricing of $79,990 for the Solterra and $84,990 for the Touring (with an extra $1000 for two-tone) throws down the gauntlet to Toyota NZ’s sister model, the bZ4X. TNZ has confirmed a 2024 launch for its BEV and has announced specification: there are two models, a 150kW front-drive Pure (which has no equivalent among the Solterra lineup) and 160kW AWD Motion.
Both Solterra and bZ4X are also on the same platform as the Lexus RZ AWD already on sale in NZ, although it has more power: 150kW at the front and 80kW at the rear.
Here in December
While Solterra’s December arrival means guaranteed access to the $7015 Clean Car Discount for buyers of the first shipment, 2024 pricing for these and other sub-$80k BEVs might depend on the future of the CCD, post-election.
The $70-80k range is currently the biggest BEV market in NZ, but many distributors struggle to keep those cars under the crucial $80k rebate cap. Some, like Volkswagen NZ during its media launch for the ID.4, have already warned that if the CCD is abolished, prices are likely to rise.