Subaru local line-up set for overhaul and expansion

An overhaul and expansion of Subaru Australia’s line-up is underway.

While unwilling to commit to details, the brand’s local boss Scott Lawrence made it clear to carsales at the launch of the sixth-generation Forester medium SUV it was only the beginning of a substantial wave of new model programs.

“You will be seeing a lot of us going forward,” Lawrence teased, referencing plans for a series of new model launches.

“There is some great product in the pipeline we will announce shortly.”

These programs definitely include the seventh-gen Outback family SUV revealed at the New York show in April, the introduction of the Wilderness off-road brand to Australia and the arrival of the facelifted Solterra electric SUV in 2026.

“Outback has a long and exciting future in Australia,” Lawrence said.

“Solterra has a long and exciting future in Australia,” he added.

But there are more potential new model in the offing including the Toyota bZ4X Touring-based Trailseeker – set to be known in Europe as the E-Outback – and the Toyota C-HR+-based Uncharted.

These two electric models were respectively unveiled in April (Trailseeker) and last week (Uncharted).

“Watch this space for some exciting announcements,” Lawrence teased.

“EVs have got an important part to play. Our view on powertrain is ultimately the consumer will decide.”

Both EVs could be in Australia as soon as 2026, although Lawrence was not prepared to make any definitive comment about either, part from forecasting the potential for some “exciting news”.

Another virtual guarantee for Australia is an expansion of the Strong Hybrid powertrain introduced with the new Forester into the smaller Crosstrek, as previously hinted, and the next-gen Outback when it arrives.

“Our priority was getting Strong Hybrid into Forester and now that is in market we are working with Subaru Corporation on the future part of it,” Lawrence said.

“Rest assured there is a plan to expand Strong Hybrid in Australia.”

The influx of all this new metal is good news for Subaru Australia, which has slid out of the Australian sales top 10 in recent years.

It was ninth on the list as recently as 2023 but missed out in 2024 and sits 12th midway through 2025 as Chinese brands such as GWM, BYD and MG crowd it out.

“We definitely have ambitions to grow the Subaru brand,” Lawrence said.

“My focus is less on the top 10 because it is the top 10. What I am focussed on is getting some incredible product … and looking after our customers.

“Subaru has proved over the last 50 years actually that if you bring in the right product, those sales ladders look after themselves.

“So we have a huge ambition to grow and we’ll do that with product looking after customers.

“That is my approach and why I am so optimistic about the future of Subaru in Australia.”

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