• Subaru BRZ sales are down 45 percent in the first five months of this year, versus 2023.
  • Strong demand for Forester (+61.4%) helped Subaru sales grow by 7.3 percent year-on-year.
  • Solterra sales jumped 255 percent in May but delivery numbers are still modest.

The Subaru BRZ is officially dead in Europe, and judging by the latest sales figures it hasn’t got much of a pulse in North America, either. Subaru dealers shifted just 227 of the coupes in May, that figure down 64 percent from the 638 they sold in May 2023, and contributing to a 45 percent drop in the year-to-date tally.

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom for Subaru. The brand’s overall sales were up 7 percent this May versus last May, making this the 22nd consecutive month of growth, and the year-to-date stats showed a similar 7.3 percent uptick.

Related: Subaru BRZ Production Ends In Japan, But Updated 2025MY BRZ And Toyota GR 86 Coming Soon

Though the Outback remained Subaru’s most popular model, with 16,506 units sold in May, its sales were in fact down 3.7 percent in May and effectively flat in the year-to-date comparison. No, the real champ of this story is the Forester, and not the brand new 2025 Forester SUV that has just started arriving at dealers, but the departing one that’s been around since 2019.

Forester sales were up 45 percent this May compared with last, and up 61 percent year-to-date, though we don’t know whether that’s down to dealer incentives designed to get rid of the old models in preparation for the new, or buyers hating the controversial new model so much that they rushed to buy the last of the old.

Subaru US Sales
ModelMay-24May-23% ChgYTD-24YTD-23% Chg
Ascent5,2776,505-18.9%22,93527,252-15.8%
BRZ227638-64.4%1,1712,130-45%
Crosstrek13,83610,45632.3%64,36862,3283.3%
Forester15,34510,58245%81,74150,64161.4%
Impreza2,4193,939-38.6%12,42816,337-23.9%
Legacy1,5272,058-25.8%7,6109,613-20.8%
Outback16,50617,146-3.7%64,85065,178-0.5%
Solterra1,546436254.6%4,1492,39873%
WRX1,6732,771-39.6%7,96313,047-39.0%
TOTAL58,35654,5317%267,215248,9247.3%
SWIPE

The Solterra EV also posted some impressive percentage rises, sales leaping 70 percent year-to-date and a staggering 255 percent in May. But even post-rise, the sales numbers are still modest relative to demand for the brand’s other vehicles: Subaru sold 1,546 electric SUVs in May, but 10 times as many Foresters in the same 31-day period.

Definitely not growing in popularity, but still outperforming the Solterra, is the latest WRX. Sales of the rally legend were down almost 40 percent in May to 1,673, and, proving that wasn’t just a blip, 39 percent year-to-date.

Subaru BRZ And WRX Sales Have Tanked, But Forester Is On Fire