Cars and Drivers

Subaru Sales Expected To Surge In June

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: June 28, 2016 8:01 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 6:17 am

Subaru has bested its Japanese rivals in U.S. growth rate. In some cases, it has bested them in quality surveys. This continues to show up in unit sales. According to KBB, Subaru will sell 50,000 vehicles in June, up 12.8% from June of last year. The entire U.S. car market is expected to rise only 5.2% to 1,550,000, according to KBB

Subaru sales still sit below another second tier Japanese manufacturer. Nissan/Infiniti is expected to sell 134,000 cars in June, up 7.9%

Subaru suffers from a small line-up of somewhat quirky all-wheel drive cars and 4 cylinder boxer engines. It has 7 basic models. None has a starting price above $27,000.

One of the reasons Subaru does so well is research firm opinion. Recently Consumer Reports experts wrote:

This Japanese automaker has been synonymous with unpretentious, practical, and affordable all-wheel-drive cars. Subarus have done well in our testing, thanks to roomy interiors, easy access, great visibility, intuitive controls, good fuel economy, and a comfortable ride. Most models have recently gotten a contemporary infotainment system that’s easy to use. Another welcome feature is the EyeSight suite of high-tech safety features. Most Subaru models fare well in our owner satisfaction and reliability surveys.

Recently Tim Fleming, analyst for Kelley Blue Book (KBB) expert, wrote:

 Subaru has been the fastest-selling brand this year by far, with models averaging just 27 days to turn, but sales have been hampered by low inventories,While still tight, inventory is much better than last year and should help Subaru achieve another record month.

Days to turn for the industry typically run about 60, to put the inventory issue in perspective.

The industry itself continues to grow, defying expectations that a slow U.S. economy will cause consumers to keep from buying expensive items. Fleming wrote:

 New-vehicle sales are expected to increase 5 percent year-over-year to a total of 1.55 million units in June 2016, resulting in an estimated 17.1 million seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR).  The 1.55 million units would bring the first half of the year’s total to 8.66 million, the highest on record and up 2 percent from last year.

June 2016 is expected to bring mostly positive numbers for the new-vehicle sales and the industry remains on pace for another top performing year. As we head into summer, sales should stabilize just slightly ahead of last year’s pace.  This month’s volume will mark the highest June since 2005, when 1.67 million units were sold during a wave of discounts.

The American consumer has not run out of gas, at least as far as car sales tell