Subaru’s pioneering work with electric vehicles has attracted a top award from Japan’s Minister of the Environment for helping prevent global warming.  Parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries, received the ‘2006 Commendation For Global Warming Prevention Activity’ award.

Subaru’s 2+2 city car is light, efficient and ideal for metropolitan use with a battery which can be recharged in 15 minutes.

The Subaru R1e has a 50 mile range and can be initially charged for eight hours at home then fast-charged at a supermarket, ECO station or local hospital.

The car has a 62 mph top speed, weighs just 870 kg and produces 54 PS at 6,000 rpm from its electric motor, while the battery life is at least 10 years or 124,000-plus miles.

Significantly, one of the advantages of the Subaru R1e is its fuel efficiency. Daytime charging costs are half that of a typical hybrid car and if cheaper night-time electricity is used, recharging is a staggering one-fifth less than for a hybrid.