Subaru Stella joins plug-in push

Subaru has just joined Mitsubishi and Smart in the push to put effective, affordable plug-in electric cars on Australian roads.

It is using its stumpy Stella city car as the teaser, with preview drives and a high-profile appearance at the Melbourne Motor Show so people will know it is serious about effective battery-powered green cars.

"It's very much a long-term project. Subaru will have an electric car on sale in Japan this year but it won't come here in the short to medium term," says the managing director of Subaru Australia, Nick Senior.

"It's a domestic program for Subaru at this stage. They are telling is it is very, very low volume to start."

Even so, Subaru Australia wants people to know it has the technology to compete with the plug-in leaders and that the Stella - even thought it looks like a tiny box with a battery - is a genuine runner.

"It's an electric car. It's the future," says Senior.

"We are going to be one of the first companies in the world with an electric car on sale. We have brought the car here to show what is possible. There are challenges involved, but it's here and it's driveable."

Subaru planned a huge test drive program but was reigned-in by the Department of Transport and Road Safety, which ruled the single Stella could not be driven on public roads. Instead, the first drives in Australia were restricted to a go-kart track in Melbourne.

Senior says Subaru is already working on a business plan but is struggling to make the numbers work, at least for the Stella.

"We wouldn't even consider it at this stage. The cost would be prohibitive," he says.

"One of the biggest issues in the short term with these cars is that they are going to be expensive."

But he believes Subaru, which is working on exclusive battery technology, is pushing ahead quickly on plug-in technology.

"We need longer travel times and shorter charge times. This does only 80 kilometres between recharges."

Senior is only admitting to long-term goals with the Stella but believes it will lead to serious Subaru electric cars.

"Basically, if you turn off your fridge in the kitchen you can run the Stella," he says.

"But I wouldn't expect to see anything serious on sale before the middle of the next decade. There is a lot to be done to make it viable, starting with the charging infrastructure as well.

"But the industry is proud of meeting the challenges over the past 10 years on a range of fronts and it is responsive and aware of all the electric car issues. We'll get there."