Subaru retires e-Boxer mild hybrid as Toyota-based strong hybrids and EVs reshape the Australian range

E-Boxer discontinued after more than a decade

Subaru will stop taking orders for models fitted with its e-Boxer mild-hybrid powertrain from September, confirming the move to Japanese publication Nikkei. "In light of the progress in electrification and the strengthening of environmental regulations, we have reviewed our product portfolio and have decided to discontinue the mild-hybrid vehicle program," the company said, as reported by GoAuto. CarExpert, also citing the Nikkei report, notes the system was first developed in 2013 and introduced in Japan in the 2018 Forester. ⁴³

The e-Boxer paired a 110kW/196Nm 2.0-litre horizontally opposed petrol engine with a continuously variable transmission and a 12.3kW/66Nm electric motor fed by a compact lithium-ion battery. It arrived in Australia in March 2020 in the Forester Hybrid and XV Hybrid, and Subaru Australia claimed at launch the system cut urban fuel use by up to 14 per cent in the XV and 19 per cent in the Forester against their petrol equivalents, according to CarExpert. ³⁴

The powertrain remains on sale locally in the Crosstrek Hybrid, but neither Subaru Australia nor the Nikkei report has confirmed when final Australian shipments of the mild-hybrid model will arrive. Nikkei reports that in Japan the Impreza will revert to petrol-only power and the Crosstrek will move exclusively to the newer strong-hybrid system once e-Boxer is retired. ⁴³

Emissions pressure and a soft Australian market

The timing reflects mounting regulatory and commercial pressure. CarExpert reports Subaru recorded the third-highest emissions liability of any automaker in the first reporting period under Australia's New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, which progressively tightens fleet-average tailpipe CO2 limits. GoAuto notes headline NVES limits sit at 117g/km for cars and SUVs in 2026, ratcheting to 92g/km in 2027 if the regime is not amended at the statutory review. ³²

Electric and hybrid volumes remain a small share of Subaru's Australian mix. GoAuto reports just 202 Solterras were delivered in Australia in 2025, less than one per cent of the brand's 39,005 total sales that year, while CarExpert data shows Subaru sold 5150 hybrids in 2025, up 84.2 per cent, placing it eighth in the hybrid sales standings behind Toyota, Hyundai, GWM, Lexus, Kia, Honda and MG. ²⁸

The broader sales picture is also under strain. CarExpert reports Subaru's first five months of 2026 were down 22.1 per cent on the same period last year, a shortfall of nearly 4000 units, following a 3.9 per cent decline in 2025 and a slide behind brands including Geely, Omoda Jaecoo and BMW. ⁵

Strong hybrids expand, powered by Toyota technology

In place of the mild hybrid, Subaru is consolidating around a strong-hybrid system that combines a 2.5-litre boxer petrol engine with a 90kW electric motor and Toyota-sourced battery hardware, while retaining a mechanical all-wheel-drive connection through its Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system, GoAuto reports. The system debuted in Japan in the Crosstrek in 2024, the Forester in 2025 and the Levorg Layback in 2026. ⁴

The Australian-market Forester Hybrid produces a combined 145kW from its 2.5-litre engine, 90kW motor and 1.1kWh battery, with official combined fuel consumption of 6.2L/100km, a 0.5L/100km improvement over the previous-generation e-Boxer Forester, according to GoAuto. In Japan, CarExpert reports the strong-hybrid Crosstrek uses a 116kW 2.5-litre engine with an 88kW motor and a 1kWh/260V battery, a 64-litre fuel tank and a claimed 1000km range per tank, rated at 5.3L/100km under the WLTC cycle versus 6.3L/100km for the outgoing mild hybrid. ⁴⁸

Subaru Australia general manager Scott Lawrence told CarExpert there will be "more hybrid across the range" as part of a portfolio-wide, product-led response to NVES, though he had no specific plans to announce for the Crosstrek or Impreza. Speaking to GoAuto at the Outback launch, he said the Forester's roughly 50:50 split between petrol and hybrid sales would shift over time, acknowledged the petrol Outback has no hybrid option, and confirmed plans to expand electrification while retaining internal-combustion models where demand exists. ⁸²

Subaru has also abandoned in-house plug-in hybrid development, confirming in 2023 that future PHEV systems would be sourced through the Toyota partnership, in which Toyota holds a circa-20 per cent stake, GoAuto reports. ⁴

Battery-electric line-up grows with Trailseeker and Uncharted

Subaru Australia has confirmed the Trailseeker, its second battery-electric model, revealed alongside the new Outback and due on sale in the second quarter of 2026. RACQ reports production began recently at the upgraded Gunma Yajima Plant in Japan, with Australian deliveries still months away at the time of its February report. The model is sold in Europe and the UK as the E-Outback, but Subaru has adopted the Trailseeker name locally, following the US. ⁶¹

The Trailseeker features a 280kW dual-motor powertrain, 0-100km/h in 4.4 seconds, a 74.7kWh battery, standard all-wheel drive, 211mm ground clearance, 533km of range on the ADR cycle, up to 150kW DC fast charging with a 10 to 80 per cent charge in about 20 minutes, vehicle-to-load capability and 1500kg braked towing capacity, according to RACQ. It is based on the e-SGP electric architecture shared with the Solterra, with both models jointly developed alongside Toyota twins, the Trailseeker twinned with the bZ4X Touring. ⁶⁴

Pricing has not been announced. RACQ notes that in the US the Trailseeker is priced about US$5,000 above a comparable Outback, projecting an indicative Australian figure near $70,000, but this is an estimate rather than a confirmed local price. The smaller Uncharted EV, twinned with the Toyota C-HR EV, launched locally in April according to CarExpert, while GoAuto separately reports Subaru Australia has set no volume targets for its electric line-up. ⁶³⁴

A parallel bet on petrol performance

Alongside the electrification push, Subaru has created a dedicated Product Innovation Division with a Sports Vehicle Planning Office focused on enthusiast models, confirmed by chief technical officer Tetsuro Fujinuki in an interview with Japanese publication Best Car, as reported by CarExpert. The brand has teased three manual-equipped performance models — a revised WRX, a focused BRZ and an all-new performance hatch — due to debut before the end of 2026, none yet confirmed for Australia. ⁷

Fujinuki said stronger-than-expected demand for electrified models has improved Subaru's fleet-average emissions position, giving engineers flexibility to revisit higher-output versions of the FA24 2.4-litre turbo-petrol boxer engine, and that tooling for the TY85 six-speed manual transmission from the retired WRX STI has been retained. CarExpert notes the motorsport version of the FA24 already produces more than 350hp (261kW), well above the current road-going WRX. ⁷

The combined picture is a distributor expanding its local range to nine models by the end of 2026, five of them hybrid or fully electric, up from seven models with three electrified options in 2025, as Inchcape managing director Blair Read told CarExpert, while petrol performance models and further manual variants remain part of the global plan. ⁵⁴