Motor Image Pilipinas, the exclusive distributor of Subaru vehicles in the Philippines says they’ve managed to outpace the growth of the local auto industry in 2023. They have also revealed their new product and dealer expansion plans for 2024.
Revealed by newly-installed country manager, Karl Magsuci, Subaru is projected to close 2023 with a 40 percent growth compared to last year. Although Magsuci didn’t provide specific numbers, based on their year-end 2022 figures of 1,437 vehicles sold, this equates to a 2023 figure of about 2,011. It marks Subaru’s second year of consecutive growth since 2021.
In other areas of business, Magsuci has officially stated that Motor Image will take over the brand’s dealer presence in Alabang. Originally run by the ANC+ Group, the area was briefly taken over by Gateway Group before being brought back into the Motor Image fold this latter part of 2023. The new dealership, located at CTP ASEAN Tower will be open by January 2024 and will serve Subaru customers in Southern Metro Manila.
Meanwhile, Subaru Pasig will also relocate to a more central location near the Tiendesitas area. They will take over the previous Chevrolet dealership located at 92-102 E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue from their current location on C5 corner Carlos Caparaz Street. This new location will be open between Q3 and Q4 of next year. In the meantime, Magsuci says service customers will be directed to either their Greenhills or Manila Bay locations.
Finally, when it comes to new products for 2024, Magsuci offered a hint that it will be a “turbocharged model.” Again, he didn’t provide specifics, but insiders say that the likely candidate to receive the forced induction treatment is the Outback.
Although a solid seller for Subaru, the Outback’s executive car positioning has been threatened of late by the likes of the Mazda CX-60 and its turbocharged 3.3-liter inline-6.
To counter that, Subaru is tapping into its performance-oriented heritage by offering it with a 2.4-liter turbocharged flat-4. The powertrain, shared with the Evoltis and WRX bumps up the Outback’s outputs to a meaty 260 horsepower and 375 Nm. This is mated to a Lineartronic CVT with paddle shifters.
It’s unknown whether Subaru plans to keep the Outback 2.5i-Touring in its line-up or whether it will receive the North American restyle, but whatever the case, expect the turbocharged Outback to retail much higher than its current P 2,500,000 price tag. There’s a possibility it could be priced higher than the WRX GT-S (WRX Wagon)’s P 2,658,000 but below the WRX tS Wagon’s P 2,978,000 price tag. For reference, the CX-60 is priced at P 2,790,000.
What do you think of Subaru’s plans for 2024?
The Outback turbo is very much welcome.
ReplyDeleteThe pricing strategy of Subaru philippines for me is a little out of touch. They achieved 40% increase due to large discounts. If they sold their vehicles at a more sensible price level instead of pricing it as a "premium" brand they'd be able to sell more. Ridiculous 200-400k discounts.
If they price it right they will have more cars on the road which in turn is a moving billboard for them which is better than any marketing campaign or strategy they would have. bigger market share, higher visibility - more sales if only the pricing structure is fixed.
Ikaw yung laging naghahanap ng turbo sa subaru. O ayan, natupad na pangarap mo.
Deletecrosstrek w/ srp of 2m for 1.3m.
Deleteamazing.
Yes! finally they'll put the outback turbo version in our market. As for the forester, wala pa rin. 1 more year of waiting for the hybrid.
DeleteNatupad but it's way behind the other competitors and not priced competitively anymore. Outback turbo for Php2.8M?! CX-60 would be the way to go V6, 3.3L turbo.
They had a huge sale uptick because of deals and large discounts recently. They should just price their lineup sensibly by bring down the prices by 200k and just offering 10-50k discounts.
Hopefully Toyota Ph will launch the Toyota Crown Signia as it is basically the outback with a turbo and hybrid system that Subaru has not come up yet with.
Unfortunately for us, the Forester Hybrid isn't arriving. It was lukewarmly received in other Motor Image markets, particularly in Taiwan and this made them u-turn on the entire idea. It's very likely they'll rely on the Toyota hybrid-sourced system on the upcoming all-new Forester.
DeleteHi Uly, yes that's the proper hybrid that we're waiting for from Subaru. As their own system is not good at all. They need to get the hybrid tech of Toyota to make a Forester that's like RAV4 hybrid and that would only be launched in 2025.
DeleteSubaru should launch the Solterra locally.
ReplyDeleteSubaru will also launch the Forester that looks like a combination of Ford and Toyota Avanza next year.
ReplyDeleteI hope they make the evoltis pricing cheaper as it’s comp cx-90 has new tech, and hybrid engine for roughly the same price!
ReplyDeleteYung totoo, may nakita ka na ba na car company ma gumawa ng sinsasabi mo? Yung binabaan ang presyo ng sasakyan nila. Wala diba?
DeleteHard to bring the price of the Evoltis down for it's sourced from USA.
DeleteEvoltis can be priced at 3.4 Million Pesos
ReplyDeleteActually I have just noticed recently that the Subaru dealerships of Gateway Group are no longer on the website. Anyone know why?
ReplyDeleteGateway gave up on selling Subaru vehicles as they're very hard to sell
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