Subaru Details Hybrid Boxer Powertrain

Subaru detailed its next-generation hybrid system as part of a joint conference with Toyota and Mazda.

The company will keep its popular boxer engine alive as part of a rethought hybrid system. During the conference, the company showed a prototype of its electrified boxer installed into a camouflaged Subaru Crosstrek prototype.

The outgoing setup works in parallel, meaning the engine and motor both propel the vehicle. The new series-parallel layout will maintain a mechanical connection between the ICE and the wheels but the combustion engine will also serve as a generator to feed a battery that powers an electric motor.

Subaru argues the new hardware brings notable benefits not just in terms of fuel economy but also in packaging. The engine, hybrid system, transmission, and transfer case are all housed together while the power control unit is located in the engine bay, without negatively impacting the size of the fuel tank. That allows the engineers to install bigger gas tanks to achieve a longer range.

In the outgoing Crosstrek hybrid, the power control unit was mounted at the rear, so the fuel tank had to be downsized to make room for it. Thanks to the new arrangement, Subaru claims the fuel tank's size will be almost the same in the hybrid as in the regular gas-only model.

Subaru plans to start production of its next-gen hybrid boxer engine this fall at a factory in Kitamoto, Saitama at home in Japan.

This article was co-written using AI and was then heavily edited and optimized by our editorial team.

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