It is celebration time for Subaru in New Zealand - the all-new 2015 Subaru Outback has out-performed 2014's total sales in the past six months it has been on sale in the Kiwi market.
Champagne corks popped yesterday at close of business when the final figures were calculated, registering that from January to June 2015 Subaru has sold 539 units compared to a total of 512 in 2014 in New Zealand.
Managing Director of Subaru of New Zealand Wallis Dumper is thrilled with the soaring Outback sales and believes they are a testament to the fantastic vehicle Subaru has produced.
“Our ambition coming into 2015 was to capture previous Legacy Wagon owners, given the iconic wagon has ceased production and is now only available in a sedan body style. It looks like the value equation of this all-new Outback is resonating with previous Legacy wagon drivers and we are going to achieve this much sooner than anticipated. Some of the credit can be attributed to the Outback’s value-for-money price, which was a huge consideration when launching the new Outback, knowing it’s always been a premium over the Legacy wagon,'' Mr Dumper says.
The 2015 Outback has been competitively priced - starting at $44,990 for the Outback Sport 2.5i, which is the same price as the previous generation Legacy. This appealing price point has seen Legacy customers flocking to buy the new generation Outback.
Widely regarded as the original crossover wagon when launched in 1996, Outback was at the forefront of Subaru's SUV success story and is now in its fifth generation, offering a much-expanded range. Mr Dumper says Outback virtually pioneered the crossover trend that has subsequently been copied by many.
"We have continually refined and improved the Outback range over 19 years, including making it our first mainstream model to have the six-cylinder version of our horizontally opposed Boxer engine, which was introduced in 2000. This six cylinder Boxer engine has evolved into a 3.6 litre power plant with fantastic economy that now also features in the all-new Legacy sedan.''
This year's impressive sales of the new generation 2015 version have been helped by the addition of Lineartronic diesel automatic variants that have brought even more appeal in rural and regional areas, where long-range dirt road driving puts Outback at a great advantage.
Despite Outback's overwhelming popularity in New Zealand, Subaru are now in a position where customer demands are being met and those on back order will be fulfilled this year.
“We are fighting for allocation in New Zealand, as Subaru of America and Australia are also enjoying successes with our wagon which has all the benefits of an SUV. Both these countries have never enjoyed quite the same success as New Zealand for sales per capita, so when we started seeing sales records appearing for these nations, we knew our records would eventually arise,'' said Mr Dumper.
Dumper continues, “As the launch campaign states and the 2015 sales have proven to date, the Subaru Outback truly is for ‘The Greatest Subaru Drivers in the World: New Zealanders'. Given New Zealanders are so passionate about adventure, our weather has a mind of it's own and a third of our roads aren't even sealed, the all-new Symmetrical All-Wheel-Drive Outback is the perfect vehicle for Kiwis.”
Judging by this snippet of satisfied customer feedback, it looks as if Subaru NZ is justified in raising a toast.
“…the Outback delivered to me on Friday is without a doubt the nicest car I have driven.''
For further information, please contact Subaru of New Zealand Public Relations - Catherine Pattison (027) 4455 389 or email catherine.pattison@subaru.co.nz