2025 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, Hyundai Tuscon Hybrid and Kia Sportage Hybrid set to feel the heat from new electrified Subaru e-Outback - but could it be hybrid or all electric?

It looks like the already swelling ranks of mid-size hybrid SUVs is set to expand even further with the emergence of a Subaru trademark for the name ‘e-Outback’ pointing to an upcoming electrified version of the evergreen Aussie family favourite.

As reported by AutoGuide Subaru has registered the term e-Outback with the Japan Patent Office, a clear signal a new variant of the five-seat crossover wagon could be heading our way sooner rather than later.

While it’s possible an e-Outback would follow the path already established by ‘e-Boxer’ mild-hybrid Subaru Crosstrek and Forester models it’s more likely the newcomer will adopt a full series-parallel hybrid powertrain as used so successfully in its corporate cousin, the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.

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Toyota owns 20 per cent of Subaru (as well as smaller stakes in other Japanese carmakers like Isuzu, Mazda and Suzuki) and technology, even model sharing, is common between the two brands.

Already, shared models like the Subaru Solterra / Toyota bZ4X BEV twins and the long-established BRZ / GR86 sports cars are in market here and Subaru is on the record saying future Subaru hybrids would start to adopt Toyota's drivetrain technology.

Reports out of Japan point to an upgraded version of the Crosstrek small crossover using hybrid tech from the Toyota Corolla Cross could arrive before the end of this year with a revised Forester featuring a Toyota-sourced hybrid powertrain set for launch in Japan in Q2 2025.

e-Outback Japanese patent filing

A complete move away from Subaru’s focus on horizontally-opposed ‘flat’ engines would be a marketing challenge and it’s likely the e-Outback will retain its boxer engine and adopt Toyota’s hybrid transaxle in place of the current CVT auto.

Of course, another, less likely scenario is the e-Outback arrives as a pure battery-electric  vehicle, but conflict with the Solterra would seemingly rule that possibility out.

2025 Subaru Outback North American facelift

Powered by a (138kW/245Nm) 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated four cylinder engine in its three lower grades and a (183kW/350Nm) 2.4-litre turbo four in top-spec XT trim the current Outback returns between 7.3 and 9.0L/100km on the combined (urban/extra-urban) fuel consumption cycle.

By comparison, the RAV4, which dominates the medium SUV segment and is now offered in hybrid form only, boasts an official combined cycle figure of just 4.7L/100km.

CarsGuide has contacted Subaru Australia for comment on the e-Outback’s potential for the local market and this story will be updated in line with any response.