Subaru of America Inc. said Tuesday its June U.S. auto sales fell on declines in demand for its Legacy and Tribeca models. The lagging sales of vehicles manufactured at the Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. (SIA) plan in Lafayette contributed to a sixth consecutive month of lesser domestic sales for the automaker.
The Japanese automaker sold a total of 17,108 vehicles, down 7.4 percent from 18,476 in June 2006. Adjusted for one additional selling day in June 2007 compared with the same month a year earlier, Subaru sales dropped 10.8 percent. Legacy sales dived 16.5 percent to 7,420 vehicles.
Sales of the Tribeca, a sport utility vehicle, fell by 29 percent, to 1,336 units. The 2008 Tribeca, which recently began arriving at Subaru dealer's showrooms, features a new bumper, grill, and lights and completely revamped front, rear and side panels. The SUV recently received top rating in crash tests conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration New Car Assessment Program.
Sales of the Baja, a sport utility vehicle which has been discontinued, fell 83 percent, to 70 units. Subaru discontinued production of the Baja in May of 2006 due to poor sales. The SIA-built SUV received five stars in both the frontal and side-impact crash tests for the driver and passenger seating positions.
"Safety is a true hallmark of the Subaru brand and the Subaru Tribeca offers our customers the peace of mind of a comprehensive, proven safety package," said Tom Doll, executive vice president at Subaru of America Inc.
During recent evaluations of sport utility vehicles, Consumer Reports magazine gave the Forester and Tribeca "recommended" ratings among small and midsized SUVs, respectively. "A former top pick, the Forester still does well in our ratings. But this aging design has lacked stability control and curtain air bags," said Consumer Reports in its findings.
"With a new Forester not due until 2009, Subaru has added stability control to the XT Sports model. The Forester is quick and agile, particularly this turbocharged model. But the interior is plain and fairly noisy. Reliability has been excellent," noted Consumer Reports.
So far this year, Subaru sales dropped 6.1 percent to 90,154 vehicles from 96,026 at the same time in 2006. Adjusted for two additional selling days in the first six months of this year compared with the same period of 2006, the Japanese automaker's sales are down 7.3 percent.
Sales declines were partially offset by a 24 percent increase in Impreza sales to 4,137 vehicles and a 4.5 percent increase in demand for the Forester to 4,145 vehicles. Only the Japanese-made Impreza and Forester models showed sales improvements when compared to the same month in the previous year. Impreza sales increased 24 percent, to 4,137 units; while sales of the Forester gained four percent, to 4,145 units.
At the 2007 New York Auto Show, the Japanese automaker launched the next generation Impreza WRX. The the new Impreza is offered as both a four-door sedan and five-door hatchback. The EJ255 engine carries over from the previous generation to power both the 2.5i and turbocharged WRX trim levels. The Impreza also is crammed with cutting-edge and innovative equipment.
The Forester, the compact crossover SUV, received exterior styling update for 2006. There were only two models built - the 2.5 X featuring naturally-aspirated 2.5 L flat-4, 173 horsepower, and the 2.5 XT Limited equipped with turbocharged 2.5 L flat-4, 230 horsepower. This year, the automaker expanded its Forester line to five variants - 2.5 X, 2.5 X L.L. Bean edition, Sports 2.5 X, 2.5 XT Limited, and Sports 2.5 XT.
