Subaru Outback Takes A Back Seat To Forester And Crosstrek

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The Subaru Outback is still the number one selling model for Subaru of America, but it's losing ground. Outback takes a back seat to Forester and Crosstrek. Check out the recent results.

It's a close battle for top model supremacy at Subaru of America. It's a three-way race between the 2024 Subaru Outback midsize SUV, the 2024 Crosstrek subcompact SUV, and the 2024 Forester compact SUV. 

I've been covering the models all year, and it's not been this close. 

Who is winning the race?

The Subaru Outback is in third place again.

The Subaru Outback midsize SUV is the third-place performer in the lineup again, decreasing 18.8 percent in November, with 12,223 models sold compared with 15,069 in November 2022. Outback is now up 11.4 percent in the first eleven months of 2023. Outback still leads the Crosstrek and Forester models this year, with 147,510 midsize SUVs delivered to customers in 2023.

photo credit: Tucson Subaru

Outback takes a back seat to the hot Forester.

Forester was the top performer by volume in November, with 15,089 model sales and an increase of 63.8 percent over November 2022. Forester had the highest percentage of growth of any Subaru model. 

The 15,089 Forester models delivered to customers compared with 9,211 in November 2022. Forester is now up 36.1 percent in the first eleven months of 2023. Forester has 136,913 models sold in 2023, remaining in third place and inches closer to the new Crosstrek.

photo credit: Tucson Subaru

I'm not surprised it was the best-ever November for the new Subaru Crosstrek. 

As Subaru of America retailers get the the all-new 2024 Crosstrek, sales of the subcompact SUV are up in November, and Crosstrek is the second best seller in the lineup. Crosstrek sales were up 18.3 percent, with 14,994 models delivered to customers in November compared with 12,672 in November 2022. 

The Crosstrek is now up 1.2 percent for the year's first eleven months. Crosstrek is second in the lineup behind Outback year to date, with 143,394 models sold in 2023. Crosstrek is now just 4,116 model sales behind the Outback.

What is next for the Outback?

The 2025 Subaru Outback will get a complete remodel from the ground up. Customers who can wait will get an Outback with significant upgrades over the 2024 model. 

An Outback Hybrid could be coming.

In a recent Outback report, I said a fuel-stingy 2025 Subaru Outback Hybrid could be the model to propel the vehicle upward again. Jeff Williams, owner of Williams Subaru in Lansing, Michigan, predicted that if production constraints fade away by the redesigned Outback's introduction, the new midsize SUV will return to its dominance in SOA's all-wheel-drive lineup as the automaker's top-selling model again.

Subaru has not confirmed the all-new 2025 Outback Hybrid, but it fits their goals and the Japanese automaker's 2020 Vision plan they announced earlier. Subaru announced last year that 40 percent of its global sales will have some form of electric power by mid-2025 to 2030, and the Japanese automaker has set a target to "sell only electric vehicles" worldwide by the first half of the 2030s.

The 2024 Subaru Outback is still the number one selling model for Subaru of America, but it needs to gain ground on the Forester and Crosstrek. Can Outback keep its best-selling model status? There's one month to go. Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading, everyone. I hope you enjoyed this Subaru Outback story. See you tomorrow for my latest Subaru Report.

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I am Denis Flierl, a 12-year Torque News senior writer with 20+ years of Subaru and automotive journalism experience. I enjoy bringing you, the Subaru fans and customers, the most up-to-date Subaru news, reviews, and new model information. You'll find the latest Subaru stories on the Subaru page. Follow me on my The Dirty Subaru website, Dirty Subaru blog, SubaruReport, All Subaru, WRXSTI, @DenisFlierl, Facebook, and Instagram.

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photo credit: main image Tucson Subaru