Subaru aims for early diesel call up

Subaru's all-new boxer diesel could arrive Down Under early if local boss Nick Senior gets his way.

Set to debut in Europe in February/March, the new 2.0-litre boxer turbodiesel was not expected to arrive in Australia until the 2009 model year. But Senior says the rapid arrival of more diesel models in the Australian small and medium SUV marketplace, and diesel sales growth generally, has prompted the brand to lobby to get the diesel Down Under sooner.

"Diesel is important [to Subaru internationally] because of the European market. We haven't played in there with any success, because we haven't had an offering to tap into a market that is around two-thirds diesel," Senior told the Carsales Network, at this week's launch of the Impreza WRX STI in Japan.

"Thus, the big step change for us globally, in terms of volume, is the diesel engine. That is why everything has been focused on getting that diesel engine developed, signed off and built to go on sale February-March next year.

"The timetable for us [to introduce diesel to Australia] was [the launch] of new Liberty and Outback in 2009. [But] If there's a chance to get the engine in another vehicle before then, then we'd love to see it," Senior said.

Senior confirmed the vehicle to which he was referring is the all-new Forester SUV, due for release in Oz in March 2008.

"The rapid [growth in buyer] interest and the large number of [model] introductions means we have accelerated our discussions with the factory to get a diesel into the Australian market [in Forester] before 2009," Senior revealed.

Senior said the factory was "sympathetic" to Australia's request but warned: "obviously there is a priority [for Europe] within FHI [Fuji Heavy Industries, Subaru's parent company]."

Alas, Senior currently rates his chances of securing the new oiler early for the local market at "worse than 50:50". He cautioned that at this stage it was unlikely Forester would offer the engine option at launch.

"Literally within the last couple of weeks we have been sitting down and saying this diesel is a great engine, can we accelerate its introduction [to Australia]," Senior revealed.

"It's not a matter of revisiting a business case; not about committing to an increased volume. It's about resources.

"FHI and ourselves have to look at production scheduling and issues such as ADR testing and see what can be fast tracked," Senior said.

Look out for the Carsales Network's full launch review of the all-new international-spec 2.5-litre Subaru Impreza WRX STI here soon

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