Subaru reports 3.9 percent sales growth in February

Subaru was awarded the 2019 Crosstrek awards for
Subaru was awarded the 2019 Crosstrek awards for "Best Brand" and for "Best Compact SUV/Crossover." | Contributed photo

Subaru of America's February sales data reveals 3.9 percent growth compared with the same month last year.

With 49,081 units sold, it was the best February in the automaker’s history. Likewise, it confirmed a year-to-date-sales of 95,153 which also is a 3.9 percent increase from the same period a year ago.

Aside from attaining its 60th consecutive month of selling more than 40,000 vehicles, Subaru was awarded the 2019 Crosstrek awards for "Best Brand" and  for "Best Compact SUV/Crossover." Those honors are two major categories of Kelley Blue Book's 2019 5-Year Cost to Own Awards, recognizing brands and new vehicles with the lowest projected ownership costs.

"These continuing record sales results are a testament to the commitment, dedication, and passion of our retailers," President and CEO Thomas Doll said. "We are proud and humbled by the accolades our brand and vehicles recently received including Consumer Reports naming Subaru the 'Best Overall Brand' in their annual Brand Report Card, as well as our Crosstrek, Forester and Ascent SUVs each ranking first in their respective categories in Consumer Reports' latest car ratings."

Jeff Walters, Subaru America's senior vice president of sales, noted that in February they benefitted from strong sales results for the three-row Subaru Ascent and the all-new Forester, which received top marks in the IIHS' new test of pedestrian crash avoidance systems.

"We've been fortunate to generate a lot of excitement throughout our line-up, particularly with our SUVs, and expect that to continue with new additions to our lineup later this year," he said.

Carline
Feb-19
Feb-18
% Chg
Feb-19
Feb-18
% Chg

MTD
MTD
MTD
YTD
YTD
YTD
Forester
13,133
11,640
12.8
%
26,451
22,488
17.6
%
Impreza
4,291
5,130
-16.4
%
8,474
10,481
-19.2
%
WRX/STI
1,987
2,244
-11.5
%
3,738
4,163
-10.2
%
Ascent
6,160
0
0.0
%
11,141
0
0.0
%
Legacy
2,683
3,319
-19.2
%
5,086
6,607
-23.0
%
Outback
12,328
14,021
-12.1
%
23,269
27,300
-14.8
%
BRZ
242
270
-10.4
%
501
505
-0.8
%
Crosstrek
8,257
10,625
-22.3
%
16,493
20,062
-17.8
%
TOTAL
49,081
47,249
3.9
%
95,153
91,606
3.9
%