Subaru plans to produce R1e electric vehicle in Japan

Last year Subaru began selling the R1, a minicar for the Japanese domestic market that comes with a 660cc DOHC four-cylinder and achieves over 57mpg. We in the States first saw the car in its electric form, called the R1e, at the 2003 Detroit Auto Show. Subaru has recently announced plans to finally build the R1e, a move for which the Japanese public has been begging since the company first showed the R1e concept at the 2003 Tokyo Motor Show. The R1e's batteries are high energy density, manganese lithium-ion batts that can be charged from single-phase 220V AC outlets usually meant for air conditioners in Japan and they give the car a range of about 125 miles.