Wednesday, December 23, 2009

No subcompacts from Subaru anytime soon

Subaru Justy

Ward's Auto is reporting that Subaru won't be reentering the subcompact market anytime soon in the U.S. Although many brands (nearly all brands, actually) are offering—or will soon be offering—a subcompact vehicle in the U.S., Subaru says it ain't gonna happen anytime soon in the States.

Why? To paraphrase, Subaru says it's a hard segment to cash in on. Basically, when the price of a car is so low, the margins aren't there; it's hard to make money on the vehicles.

However, Ward's says small cars are bucking the trend's overall decline. Ward’s says sales in the Upper Small segment are down 18.2% compared to the total light-vehicle falloff of 23.8% through November. Then again, just because they're selling doesn't necessarily mean the manufacturers are making money off of them.

Looks like those wanting an all-wheel drive subcompact are going to have to turn to a Suzuki SX4, or simply opt for a larger vehicle ... or buy an old Justy.

LINK
Subaru Not Sold on Subcompacts (WardsAuto.com)

2 comments:

nlpnt said...

Subaru actually has nothing between kei-size and the Impreza at the moment.

Odd but true; the Impreza hatchback costs more than the sedan here but it's the other way around in Japan.

Andy Lilienthal said...

Subaru Japan

Wow, I guess you're right. I thought the Stella and Pleo were a tad bigger.

They do have the Dex, but that's just a rebadged Toyota bB.