Owing to unfavorable circumstances, Subaru is reportedly pulling the plug on the Stella EV bringing it to an untimely death after barely two years on the market. Apparently, Subaru expects to sell 400 units by March with production touted to end after that.

According to The Yomiuri Shimbun, “Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., the maker of Subaru vehicles, will suspend sales of its electric vehicles for up to five years while it waits for the market to mature and the necessary infrastructure to be put in place.”

Due to factors like scant recharging facilities for electric vehicles and expensive lithium-ion batteries, Fuji Heavy Industries anticipates poor profits for the electric vehicle business for the next five years.

The Subaru Stella has a small 9 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery that drives a 47 kilowatt electric motor capable of a range of around 50 miles. The electric car had a price tag of 4.72 million yen and aimed to attract mainly corporate users and local governments.

It was in July 2009 that both the Subaru Stella and the Mitsubishi i-MiEV made its debut. However, both the vehicles had contrasting destinies. While Stella’s sales became sluggish over time, the i-MiEV sold like hot pancakes with a U.S. debut slated for 2012.

Incidentally, the fact that Toyota now owns roughly one-fifth of Fuji Heavy Industries could have been instrumental to Subaru’s decision to presently forgo electric vehicle sales. Toyota is reportedly not-so-optimistic about the profitability of electric cars.

Nonetheless, Subaru expects to make a comeback to the electric vehicle market in 2016 to make headway in the U.S. that will have strict emission control requirements. Also, more recharging facilities and affordable lithium-ion batteries are expected to turn the tide for electric vehicles by then.

via greencarreports