Subaru Corp. plans to invest around ¥250 billion in electric-vehicle battery capacity over the next five years and will add an EV production line to its main factory in Gunma Prefecture in Japan that should begin producing cars from 2027, the automaker said Thursday.

The new line will involve an investment of around ¥100 billion, the Nikkei reported earlier.

"We’ve been getting a lot more questions from retailers in the U.S. about EVs over the past year,” Subaru CEO Tomomi Nakamura said at a briefing on Thursday. "It’s crucial to look closely at how consumers’ values are changing.”