So Much Winning: Even With Cars Tanking, Subaru Hits Another Record

We’ve seen this kind of meteoric rise before, so it’s our duty to tell Subaru to “just say no” to drugs. Let’s not have this end in heartbreak for all the fans.

With that important announcement out of the way, it’s time to toss around some numbers — which, at Subaru of America, are quite positive. Despite an industry that sank over 3 percent overall, and with one less selling day than July 2017, last month was the brand’s best July in history, which followed its best June, and May, and… you get the picture. The first half of 2018 was Subaru’s best sales half to date.

Helping the brand achieve a 6.7 percent year-over-year sales increase was the arrival of Subaru’s largest vehicle to date. Go figure, Americans seem to like it.

In its first full month on the market, Subaru unloaded 4,589 Ascents. The turbocharged three-row midsize crossover seemed, upon launch, to be just the weapon the brand needed to do battle in a hotly contested segment. Spacious, approachable, not polarizing, but not entirely unoriginal, either. That model’s sales figure nearly reaches the combined number of Legacy and WRX/STI sedans sold in July.

However, there’s still a long way to go before pillars start toppling. The Toyota Highlander sold 21,159 units in July. Ford sold 22,782 Explorers. Honda offloaded 13,065 Pilots. That’s heavy-duty volume, but there’s no way of knowing at this early point where the Ascent might end up.

Looking at lower-volume rivals, Nissan sold 5,303 Pathfinders last month, placing the big Subaru within striking distance. Hyundai, which doesn’t break down its sales as much as we’d like, sold a combined total of 8,275 Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sports. Where the larger of the two vehicles actually ended up on the sales charts is anyone’s guess.

What’s more impressive about July is Subaru’s ability to make such gains in the face of sinking passenger car sales. It seems to add just the right product at the right time.

Over the first seven months of 2018, Subaru’s U.S. sales rose 6 percent, even as its car models declined — the Legacy by 18.2 percent, YTD, the Impreza by 11 percent, and the WRX/STI by 10.2 percent. You can guess which direction the BRZ headed. Even the soon-to-be-revamped Forester crossover fell 9.9 percent, year to date. That meant heavy lifting for the remaining models.

While the legendary Outback remains just barely in the black on a YTD basis, sales dropped 8.4 percent in July, year over year. So, where exactly is this record month’s additional volume coming from? From the Ascent, but most importantly from the wildly popular Crosstrek. Subaru’s hatchback on stilts saw a 58.9 percent year-over-year sales increase last month, with sales over the first seven months of 2018 up a whopping 69.2 percent.

At this time last year, the Crosstrek recorded about half the volume of its bigger Outback sibling. This year, it’s covered more than half the sales ground separating the two. So popular is the little Crosstrek, it’s nipping at the Forester’s heels.

When rumors crop up about Ford (or any other manufacturer) turning their passenger cars into sort-of crossovers, this is why they’re believable.

[Images: © 2018 Matthew Guy/TTAC]