Electric Subaru for Hokkaido summit

At least three Japanese car makers will showcase vehicles that address environmental concerns at the upcoming G8 Summit, commencing from July 7.

Mazda will field the hydrogen-fuelled rotary hybrid Premacy at the summit and two other companies have built electric vehicles which are production-ready.

Mitsubishi was the first to make an announcement, having built a fleet of 10 electric vehicles to ferry the officials to and fro during the summit. The company plans to introduce the MiEV to retail consumers next year. Based on the Mitsubishi 'i', the MiEV stores power in a lithium-ion battery and is driven by a high-output electric motor. There are also plans for more than one American power company to test the vehicle.

The latest concern to come up with an environmentally friendly vehicle for the summit is Fuji Heavy Industries, parent company of Subaru. Five pre-production electric vehicles based on Subaru's Stella model (standard car pictured) will play their part in the G8 summit. Four of the vehicles will be employed ferrying government officials around and the fifth will be on display.

A sixth Stella Concept model will be made available to the Japan Post group to deliver mail in the vicinity of the Toyako region during the course of the summit.

Subaru will conduct further testing of the electric vehicles before arriving at a decision to place the car in production. The company already has 40 units of the R1e concept car undergoing testing with the Tokyo Electric Power Company and the Kanagawa Prefectural Government.

Remaining front-wheel drive, the Stella Concept stores its electrical charge in lithium-ion batteries and an electric motor developing 40kW of power and 150Nm of torque will drive the four-seat car at speeds of up to 100km/h over a range of up to 80km.