It’s another turn of the screw for the Subaru hybrid: we’ve heard multiple reports of a Subaru with a hybrid powertrain for some time now, and it looks like the vehicle is still on track to debut in 2013.
The report comes from Automotive News, who spoke with Subaru President Yasuyuki Yoshinaga and reported that a Subaru hybrid car is coming in 2013. Although Yoshinaga didn’t have any details about the future model, Subaru’s stand may have an answer for us: the hybrid-powered Advanced Tourer concept.
The Advanced Tourer is powered by a 1.6-liter, direct-injected, turbocharged four-cylinder boxer engine, as well as a single electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery pack. It’s mated to Subaru’s Lineartronic continuously-variable transmission, and either the gas or the electric motor can power all four wheels through Subaru’s symmetrical all-wheel drive system. While there’s no clear indication of whether or not the Advanced Tourer will see production, it is around the same size as the current Legacy, which is due for a refresh around 2013.
Hybrids and Legacy refreshes aside, things are looking up for the Japanese marque: fresh off the debut of the BRZ, its joint-venture sports car made with Toyota, the company said that it’s increasing its sales forecasts. Yoshinaga said that he expects the automaker to top 300,000 sales in the U.S. next year. To put that number in perspective, it sold 215,631 cars through the end of October this year, and 216,334 Subarus in the first ten months of 2010. We’d imagine that Subaru’s BRZ and new Impreza will be partially responsible for the uptick in deliveries, but it’s no small feat for the automaker, which must compete against similar optimistic sales goals from the likes of Nissan, Toyota, and Hyundai.
We’ll just have to wait and see, then, if Subaru’s lofty goals are as successful as its one-time reign of the World Rally Championship, or as unsuccessful as the ill-fated Baja.
Source: Automotive News (sub. required)
Awesome, the wife has been hoping for a hybrid Subaru wagon since about 2007!
great i hope that the hybrid subaru get atleast 40mpg
Mr Timmons, why would you compare the 300,000 projected YEARLY sales to 10-month sales figures for the past year, especially given earthquake/tsunami-related production issues that hit Subaru especially hard, given that two of its US-made breadwinners receive Japanese-sourced parts, and its other breadwinner, the Forester, is made in Japan?
Given that Subaru hit 260,000 sales in 2010, and that an all-new Impreza is just coming out, sales close to or exceeding 300k seem reasonable.