The US state of Indiana may become Subaru's preferred location for establishing an electric vehicle production site in the world's largest economy, according to the Japanese automaker's CEO.

Subaru sees the years up to 2028 as critical for increasing EV sales, with the goal of eventually reaching an annual sales target of 600,000 battery-powered vehicles by 2030, which will account for half of its global sales.

It intends to sell 400,000 units in the United States.

Subaru CEO Atsushi Osaki told reporters at a roundtable meeting in Tokyo on September 13 that the automaker is still deciding where in the United States it will manufacture EVs.

The company, a fifth owned by Toyota Motor, already owns a plant in Lafayette, Indiana, where it has been producing Legacy and Outback models.

That site may well come out as top candidate location for the company's EV production, Osaki said, while cautioning it has not made any final decisions on the issue and was considering a wide range of things.

"The time to make a decision is coming close," he added, without saying whether the company was considering to build a new factory or add to or revamp existing production lines.

Osaki said he met Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb in Japan this month, without giving further details, such as whether the two had talked about any more investment by Subaru.