Subaru's Sales Plummeted, But This Unexpected Champion Rose to the Occasion | Carscoops

      BRZ deliveries in the US increased by nearly 44 percent, but Subaru's overall sales still saw a significant decline.

      Subaru's sales in the U.S. dropped by 10.4 percent in May, with almost all models showing a decrease in sales.

      WRX sales fell over 70 percent, resulting in its worst month in quite some time.

      The BRZ experienced a surprising 44 percent increase, although the total sales numbers remained low.

      May was challenging for Subaru, even as consumers rushed to make purchases ahead of anticipated price increases due to U.S. tariffs, which only intensified the impact of the decline on the Japanese brand. While Subaru promoted its new Solterra following its launch at the NYIAS in April, the previous models struggled to sell well in dealerships, along with several others. The brand’s overall sales fell more than 10 percent, but one unexpected performer attempted to mitigate the downturn.

      Subaru's U.S. division sold 52,292 vehicles last month, down from 58,356 in May 2024. That represents a significant decrease, and even an outstanding effort from the BRZ coupe could not halt the decline. BRZ sales surged by 44 percent, an impressive achievement for a car that has seen disappointing numbers recently. However, this improvement brought total sales to just 326 units, a mere drop in the bucket compared to the overall decline of over 6,000 units.

      The outgoing Legacy saw a 17 percent increase to 1,793 units sold, while Crosstrek sales rose by 14 percent to 15,793 units, alongside modest gains for the Impreza and Forester. Unfortunately for Subaru, these positive results were overshadowed by several other models that failed to perform well over the past month.

      Ascent sales fell by 33 percent to 3,547 units, the Outback decreased by 32 percent to 11,214 units, and the Solterra dropped by 19 percent to 1,246 units. However, the largest decline was seen in the WRX, a vehicle that was once highly coveted by American automotive enthusiasts, with only 482 units sold in May, down from 1,673 the previous year.

      The Solterra and Outback at least have the justification of being impacted by the upcoming release of newer versions—the Solterra has actually increased by 24 percent year to date, while the Outback is only down 3 percent. Conversely, the WRX lacks such an explanation, although it could argue that its year-to-date negative 24 percent figure is less severe than the 70 percent drop in May, despite still being poor.

      However, Subaru does not appear ready to abandon the WRX. The company recently released a teaser for what seems to be a WRX-related concept set to debut at the Japan Mobility Show this October. Features such as a large splitter, wide fenders, and a vented hood have led to speculation that Subaru might be reviving the WRX STI.