Subaru axes Liberty

The Subaru Liberty has been sent packing.

Just one more shipment from Japan is set to arrive in Australia this year, and all stock is expected to be gone by early 2021.

The writing was on the wall for the Subaru Liberty back in March as the importer had to make a decision on whether to begin importing the high-tech next-generation Liberty.

Subaru Australia told carsales today the business case didn't stack up for the venerable mid-size sedan, and the so the Liberty will be officially deleted from the Australian new car menu.

However, the car company is understood to be considering a farewell special-edition Subaru Liberty in the coming months, to celebrate 31 years of the well-known nameplate in Australia, where it notched up more than 153,000 sales.

It's a sombre day for Subaru Australia but the brand will get plenty of new metal over the next 18 months with the new-generation Outback and Levorg coming in 2021, along with new WRX, BRZ and WRX STI excitement machines to follow, as well as a new Forester and an EV.

The Subaru Liberty is just the latest victim in the demise of the once-popular mid-size sedan segment as a direct result of increased demand for SUVs. Medium cars are now less popular than small and light cars and others to disappear as a result include the Hyundai i40, Nissan Altima, Holden Malibu, Suzuki Kizashi, Citroen C5 and, soon, the Kia Optima.

The Liberty managed just 2441 sales over the past two years, compared to models like the jacked-up Outback, which found 13,844 buyers, let alone the Toyota Camry with almost 10,000 sales this year alone. In 2020 sales of the Subaru Forester SUV are down more than 20 per cent to the end of July, yet it’s found almost 7000 buyers.

As the Japanese car brand states, it is a “clear indication of market preferences”.

The first-generation Subaru Liberty, which is badged as the Legacy in some countries, was launched in Australia in 1989 and since then has won countless awards, including being named Wheels Car of the Year in 1995 and 1999.

Subaru Australia managing director Christian Dinsdale said the Liberty played a “pivotal” role in the brand’s Australian success.

"While customer preferences have moved on to other vehicles in our range, Liberty has played a hugely influential role in the brand's growth and reputation for engineering, safety, durability and retained value," he said.

"It was our first model with global appeal and moved the brand away from its utilitarian roots to becoming a respected automotive company.

Dinsdale also pointed out the Liberty’s motorsport successes, and the fact that the Liberty laid the ground work for the iconic Subaru WRX's rallying triumphs.

"The first turbocharged Libertys paved the way for the fantastic successes that followed with both Subaru Rally Team Australia and the Subaru World Rally Team."

The late Possum Bourne piloted a Subaru Liberty RS turbo during the early 1990s in the Australian Rally Championship, providing the road-going RS turbo with huge street cred.

The Liberty also helped promote Subaru as a ‘safe’ brand, a Japanese Volvo if you will. In 1994 very few cars offered dual front airbags across the range – one of them was the Liberty.

Another vehicle that has been touch-and-go for Subaru Australia is the Levorg wagon, whose range has just been halved in Australia as demand dwindles.

Only the top-shelf $50,000-plus WRX-powered Levorg GT-S and STI Sport will remain available here, powered exclusively by the Subaru WRX's 2.0-litre turbo-petrol boxer engine (197kW/350Nm).

But the Levorg will live on in Australia, with Subaru confirming the new-generation version will touch down on Aussie terra firma in early 2021, before the new Outback follows it on sale in the second half of next.

If you've got a Subaru Liberty story to tell -- good, bad or ugly -- please leave a comment below.

1994
All Libertys get dual front airbags.

1995
Liberty wins Wheels Car of the Year.

2001
Liberty B4 reintroduced turbocharged technology to the range.

2004
New-generation Liberty and Outback awarded the best-ever five-star crashworthiness ratings in independent testing performed by the Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).

Introduction of six-cylinder 3.0-litre options, including the Liberty spec.B. Locally developed special-edition, the Liberty GT tuned by STI, arrives.

2006
Premium versions of Model Year 2007 Liberty and Outback feature the high-tech SI-Drive system. Subaru Intelligent Drive offers the option of three different drive experiences in one.

2009
Liberty passes the 120,000 sales mark in Australia. Fifth-generation Liberty launches and Liberty 3.6R Premium named Best Prestige Car in the combined motoring organisations Australia's Best Cars awards.