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Subaru’s all-new Forester hybrid is on track to become the brand’s best-seller in Australia.
Family Cars
Subaru is expecting the bulk of Forester sales in Australia will be comprised of new hybrid variants.
Subaru Australia’s General Manager, Scott Lawrence, told Drive he expected hybrid sales to climb as high as 70 per cent by the end of the year after strong early orders for the all-new Forester model.
With total sales of 6495 to the end of June, the Forester is already the best-selling vehicle for the brand in Australia. Lawrence predicted Forester sales will be skewed heavily in hybrid’s favour.
“Look, it's early days,” Lawrence told Drive. “We’ve seen 45 per cent petrol split, 55 per cent hybrid, and it's only been four weeks of pre-orders, which is a really interesting split, higher petrol than perhaps many were expecting.”
Lawrence added that while he expected that initial sales split to stabilise, he believed there was room for growth in hybrid sales.
“I would not be surprised, by end of year, we're writing closer to 70 per cent of orders being hybrid.”
The all-new Forester hybrid arrived in local dealerships last month, with three variants sitting alongside four petrol-only variants.
The new Forester Hybrid system combines a 121kW/212Nm version of Subaru’s 2.5-litre engine with a 90kW Toyota-sourced electric motor and 1.1kWh battery for a combined output of 145kW.
Fuel consumption is a claimed 6.2L/100km on the combined cycle, an improvement of 0.5L/100km over the previous generation Forester hybrid.
All models sit on Subaru’s permanent all-wheel drive system.
Pricing starts at $46,490 plus on-road costs for the entry-level Forester AWD hybrid, a $3000 premium over the equivalent petrol model.
Lawrence said stock levels of Forster hybrid remained good with no significant delays on deliveries.
“We’ve got a healthy supply coming in,” he said. “We are seeing a huge amount of demand, which is excellent at this point. There [are] no significant delays, both petrol or hybrid [variants].”
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Rob Margeit is an award-winning Australian motoring journalist and editor who has been writing about cars and motorsport for over 25 years. A former editor of Australian Auto Action, Rob’s work has also appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Wheels, Motor Magazine, Street Machine and Top Gear Australia. Rob’s current rides include a 1996 Mercedes-Benz E-Class and a 2000 Honda HR-V Sport.
