Subaru focuses on performance

Subaru Corp. started 2020 by providing parts of its impending electrification strategy as the automaker known for all-wheel drive prepares for a new era.

Subaru will attempt to derive at least 40 percent of its global sales from full-electric or hybrid vehicles by 2030, with its entire lineup being electrified in the first half of 2030.

For a brand with just one hybridized model in the United States — the low-volume Crosstrek Hybrid, a plug-in — Subaru will look much different by the end of the decade.

But for now, with Subaru's U.S. lineup anchored by fresh crossovers, the short-term focus will be its performance models.

BRZ: Subaru's lowest-volume model in the U.S. is set to be the brand's next redesign after it skips the 2021 model year. However, given the sporty coupe's rear-wheel-drive layout, it won't be redesigned onto the brand's modular platform. Recent spy photos suggest that the next-generation BRZ, along with the closely developed Toyota 86, will keep styling similar to the outgoing model, but some significant changes should come with the redesign, which appears primed for a 2021 debut. In a spy photo of a BRZ from last month, the vehicle had signs of Subaru's EyeSight safety system, which is not offered in the current model. More power under the hood, with a 2.4-liter boxer engine, also figures to be part of the redesign.

WRX/WRX STI: Subaru's duo of performance sedans will be the last two nameplates in the current lineup to make the jump to the brand's modular platform. The redesigned WRX should appear in 2021, followed by the more powerful WRX STI in 2022. The models will likely borrow some design cues from Subaru's Viziv Performance Concept, which debuted at the 2017 Tokyo auto show.

Impreza: The compact sedan and hatchback received a freshening for the 2020 model year. The Impreza was the first model put onto the Subaru Global Platform, which means it should also be the first nameplate on it to be redesigned, which will likely break cover around 2022.

Legacy: Fresh off a redesign for the 2020 model year, the midsize sedan is a few years away from a refresh.

Crosstrek: The freshened 2021 Crosstrek is the biggest update to Subaru's portfolio this year thanks to a larger, more powerful engine option. While Subaru has seen great success with the subcompact crossover and is among the leaders in the segment, critics have said the Crosstrek needed more oomph. That should change now that the 2.5-liter engine found in the Legacy, Forester and Outback will power two Crosstrek trims: Sport, which is new with the refresh, and top-of-the-line Limited. The engine has 182 hp and 176 pound-feet of torque, an increase of 30 hp and 31 pound-feet of torque over the 2.0-liter engine in the base and Premium trims. The refresh also brings an updated front bumper and grille to the Crosstrek.

Forester: Subaru's U.S. sales leader through August is likely a couple of years from a freshening.

Outback: As with the closely related Legacy, the Outback midsize crossover is a few years away from a freshening.

Ascent: For the 2021 model year, Subaru's largest model received upgrades to its EyeSight safety system with adaptive cruise control with lane centering and lane keep assist. The three-row crossover is a couple of years away from its first freshening, given Subaru's traditional product cycles.

Global strategic SUV: In 2018 when then newly minted Subaru Corp. CEO Tomomi Nakamura announced his five-year business plan, it included the launch of a "global strategic SUV" in the early 2020s. Subaru has said little about such a model since. Earlier this year, Nakamura told Automotive News that the global strategic SUV "is still under discussion where we have an opening in our portfolio. But, of course, we are thinking of the U.S. as the main market because the volume is there."

Toyota-Subaru battery-electric crossover: Not much is known about the EV fruits of a joint development between Subaru and Toyota, but the two brands will share one platform. It'll be a new nameplate rather than a battery-powered variant of an existing model and will be about the size of a Forester. It might be offered in a front-wheel-drive variant with one motor and an all-wheel-drive layout with two motors. The timing of its arrival has been unclear from the automakers except that it'll be in the first half of the 2020s.