Subaru Liberty faces the chopping block

Subaru Australia says it will make a decision on whether to import the new Liberty mid-size car Down Under in the coming weeks, but the initial forecast seems bleak at best.
Launched last year in the US, where it is known as Legacy, the new-generation Liberty’s Australian prospects have remained under a cloud as far back as 2018.

Last week, Subaru Australia confirmed the Liberty’s closely-related Outback sibling would launch in Australia before year’s end. But managing director Colin Christie said a decision on the Liberty was both complicated and vexing.

“We’re still finalising our plans,” he said. “Our focus at the moment is around Outback, that’s our biggest volume opportunity moving forward with that model.

“It’s going to be a challenging decision, whether we choose to bring that model to market. You look at the medium car segment, the decline is huge. We’re going to have to think long and hard about whether we want to bring that car to market.”

Medium-sized sedans are struggling to gain any kind of foothold in an Australian market obsessed with SUVs. For anything that isn’t a fleet-savvy Toyota Camry, volume is especially limited, a factor Christie is acutely aware of.

“The Liberty’s a fantastic car to be honest. I think it would work, but the challenge for us is the volume expectations we get out of that segment and whether that could justify bringing that car into the country,” he explained.

“That decision will happen in the next three months to be honest. We need to make that decision.”

Like the new Outback, the 2021 Subaru Liberty is the recipient wholesale change inside and out, putting to use Subaru’s new SGP architecture and sporting understated styling enhancements and a swish new infotainment interface.

“It pretty much mirrors Outback. The Liberty is available in the US market as the Legacy, it’s pretty much an identical interior layout,” Christie explained.

As for Outback, Christie said the new model first shown at last year’s New York motor show would likely drive more sales for Subaru in the short term.

“At this stage from an Outback point of view, it’s still looking like it will arrive at the end of the year

“We’re doing around 500-600 vehicles a month, which is still pretty strong. We’d be expected to be closer to the 1000 mark a month with the new model.