Subaru projects 2023 sales increase, shows dealers next Outback

Subaru executives told dealers Saturday that they can expect at least some relief from crazy tight inventory levels in the coming year as production levels increase. And they said the brand should see higher year-over-year sales as a result.

Tom Doll, CEO of Subaru of America, told Automotive News after the brand's make meeting that Subaru is forecasting a roughly 8 percent gain to 600,000 sales in 2023 as production constraints ease. Subaru sold 556,581 vehicles in the U.S. in 2022 and last topped 600,000 in 2020.

"There's still very strong demand out there," Doll said, adding that Subaru dealers had done a good job managing consumer expectations through the industry's supply shortages.

Dealers also got a "peek behind the curtain" at the next-generation Outback midsize crossover, which is due to arrive in the U.S. in 2025, said Jeff Williams, owner of Williams Subaru in Lansing, Mich.

"That's the most excited I've been about a vehicle heading here in a long time," said Williams, who declined to reveal any specifics about it. "I will say that [Subaru engineers and designers] seemed to have addressed every issue that we've brought up with the Outback. They really seemed like they listened to us, and that gives me confidence in how the next-generation Outback is going to perform in the marketplace."

Williams predicted that if production constraints fade away by the redesigned vehicle's introduction, the Outback will return to its perch as Subaru's top-selling model. Last year, the Crosstrek subcompact crossover was the brand's top seller in the U.S., while the Forester compact crossover finished just ahead of the Outback in 2021.

Dealers in the meeting asked no questions of Doll or his management team, the CEO said, adding that the brand "tries to anticipate all of the questions that we might get as much as we can and communicate those answers to our retailers in advance."