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Subaru’s New Model Sales Reveals An Interesting Mix Of Good And Bad News

Subaru of America announced sales for August with both good and bad news. Check out the mixed results here and a newly-leaked photo of the 2022 Forester Wilderness surfaces before its debut.

Subaru of America is doing the best they can with the limited number of new cars in inventory. The Camden, N.J. automaker reported August sales with good and bad news. Overall, Subaru had a 14.7 percent decrease in sales over August 2020.

The good news is, the 2021 Subaru Crosstrek was a top seller again, up 12.2 percent with 11,587 models delivered to customers versus 10,329 in August 2020. The Crosstrek subcompact leads all Subaru SUVs in the percentage of increase, up 37.3 percent year-to-date.

2021 Subaru Forester, 2021 Subaru Crosstrek, 2022 Subaru Outback

The 2021 Subaru Forester dropped 26.5 percent, with the automaker delivering 12,688 compact SUVs compared with 17,261 last year. Forester still leads the lineup year-to-date, with 120,888 models sold in 2021. Despite limited supply, the Forester is up 2.1 percent year-to-date.

The 2022 Subaru Outback arrived last month, and customers bought 14,219 of the midsize SUVs compared with 14,856 in August 2020, a 4.3 percent decrease. Outback is the number two carline by volume, with 115,896 models delivered to customers in 2021. The Outback is up 29.8 percent year-to-date in part due to the all-new Outback Wilderness trim selling as fast as retailers can get them.

2021 Subaru Forester, 2021 Subaru Crosstrek, 2022 Subaru Outback
photo credit: Competition Subaru

The 2022 Ascent 3-Row SUV continues a decline in 2021 with 5,418 models delivered to families compared with 6,619 in August 2020, an 18.1 percent decrease. The Ascent is down in sales 11.9 percent year-to-date.

In advance of the 2022 WRX reveal this month, the 2021 WRX and WRX STI performance cars saw the most significant percentage increase, with 2,194 model sales up 80.1 percent over August 2020 (1,218). The 2021 WRX and STI are selling exceptionally well ahead of the next-generation 2022 WRX global reveal on September 10, 2021.

The 2022 Subaru Legacy and 2022 Subaru Impreza continue to decline down 26.2 percent and 72.4 percent, respectively, in August. The next-generation 2022 Subaru BRZ arrives this fall and had no sales last month.

"Sales remain steady despite battling the ongoing microchip shortage, and our retailers continue to deliver strong results," said Thomas J. Doll, President, and CEO, Subaru of America, Inc.

2021 Subaru Forester, 2021 Subaru Crosstrek, 2022 Subaru Outback
A leaked photo of the 2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness surfaces before its debut

Subaru announced they would shut down its plant in Gunma, Japan, four days this month, September 7-10, 2021, due to the microchip shortage. This will further delay the 2022 Subaru Forester and Crosstrek for U.S. customers. Subaru of America has a new model launch and will uncover the 2022 Forester Wilderness today at 9 am EST. Stay tuned for a full report on the new rugged model.

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Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press. Check out Subaru Report where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Photo credit: main image Patrick Subaru