With '19 Outback selling well, Subaru taking time with '20 model

CAMDEN, N.J. — Subaru of America is taking a measured approach to launching its redesigned 2020 Outback crossover.

Production of the 2019 model has wound down, but with sales of 112,139 through July, it is delivering more than a quarter of the brand's U.S. volume.

Slow launches of the redesigned midsize crossover and the closely related and redesigned Legacy midsize sedan began July 29 at Subaru's plant in Lafayette, Ind.

Jeff Walters, Subaru of America's senior vice president of sales, said switching to the new design could happen quickly. But that's not the plan.

"I don't think we have much expectation that they'll be working much overtime or weekends at the plant," Walters told Automotive News at the brand's U.S. headquarters here. It's more critical to make sure the new models are built well, he said.

"I think we'll hold those cars for a couple weeks before we start sending them out to our retailers," he said of the early launch units. Dealers "should expect their initial deliveries around the third or fourth week of August."

After that, production of the two new models will ramp up gradually, Walters noted. Only in October, he said, will the Indiana plant be pushing hard to satisfy sales demand.

He said Subaru intends to keep incentives in check for the 2019 models. In July, Subaru vehicles averaged $1,473 in incentives across the brand, down 9.1 percent from a year earlier, ALG said.

Both redesigned models arrive when much of Subaru's lineup is fresh. The Outback and Legacy follow the rollout of new or redesigned Crosstrek Hybrid, Forester, Ascent, Crosstrek and Impreza models.

"It's going to be a great changeover," Walters said of the 2020 launch. "We're at the right level of incentives, and the supply of 2019s will be at a very good place when the 2020s start to arrive. The retailers will be ready for it."

Subaru has high sales expectations for the Outback and the Forester compact crossover, which was redesigned for the 2019 model year.

"We'd like to see both lines get close to 200,000," Walters said.

Through July, Subaru has sold 403,631 vehicles in the U.S., up 5.6 percent from the same period a year ago, and it expects to meet the 700,000-vehicle sales goal that it identified for this year.

The increase happened despite a production shutdown of more than a week in January at Subaru's Japan plant, home of its two volume nameplates, the Forester and Crosstrek.

"Even though we had production difficulties earlier in the year, we are on pace for 700,000," Walters said.

"We feel pretty good. We still have a lot of cars we need to sell."