Subaru's new model onslaught incoming: 2026 Subaru Forester Hybrid finally arrives to take on the Toyota RAV4, but there is lots of exciting new models coming soon, said Australian boss

The new Subaru Forester landing in Australia could finally open the gates for more proper hybrid models in the brand’s local line-up, as well as more electric cars to come after the lacklustre Toyota bZ4X-based Solterra EV.

Subaru Australia’s Managing Director Scott Lawrence said there’s plenty to look forward to from the brand in the coming months and years.

The Forester’s Australian arrival was delayed compared to the new generation’s global reveal in 2023, but Lawrence explained Subaru Australia waited until the new hybrid system (which Subaru calls a ‘Strong hybrid-electric vehicle’ or SHEV) was available before launching locally.

“We actually had great support from Subaru Corp to get the Forester here as quickly as possible,” said Lawrence, who has been Subaru Australia’s GM for a little over a year.

“So I think that the Forester SHEV launched in Japan two months ago, and we were right off the heels of that. 

“We've had great support getting it here as quickly as possible. So it wasn't a delay. In fact, a little bit ahead of schedule, actually.”

The sixth-gen Forester launched early 2024 in the US, with the Hybrid arriving at the start of this year.

In its home market of Japan, the Forester launched in mid-2025, not long before its Australian arrival.

The new full-hybrid system only became available globally this year.

“Yeah, we think in the view of giving customers options, it makes the most sense to launch the model with all options available at once. So ICE, hybrid, yeah,” Lawrence explained.

Subaru Australia has offered mild hybrid options for the Forester and other variants in the past, as well as an electric-only model in the Solterra, but this new Forester will likely be the brand’s biggest-volume step into electrification.

Subaru's sales have been gently slipping recently, with sales down 8.4 per cent for the first half of 2025 compared to 2024. Has a lack of proper hybrid offering in recent years been part of that?

“Look, there is definitely consumer demand for hybrid,” Lawrence said. “We see that really being strongest in the mid-size SUV segment.

“I mean, 40 per cent of that segment is actually hybrid. So that was a priority in getting Forester here as the SHEV.

“I think to use Forester as an example we've been on preorder for four weeks now or so, 45 per cent now of that's been petrol, 55 per cent has been hybrid.”

Lawrence was quick to add the popularity of the hybrid version of the new Forester wouldn’t impact the availability of the petrol-only version.

“So there is still a really important part for petrol to play in the Australian market. We'll keep listening to consumers, but there is definitely still a demand for petrol.”

When asked if Subaru expected the introduction of a hybrid mid-size SUV to make it more competitive in the sales game, Lawrence said, “yeah, definitely”.

“I mean that mid-size SUV segment is the biggest segment, even more so than pick-up. And as I said, 40 per cent of that is hybrid.”

Australians bought 149,167 mid-size SUVs in the first half of 2025 versus 124,111 utes - including the full-size Americans.

The Forester is the brand’s best-seller in the year so far, even before the new arrival, but its 6495 sales in H1 2025 are dwarfed by the likes of the Toyota RAV4 (24,034 sales), Mitsubishi Outlander (11,399), Kia Sportage (10,558) and Hyundai Tucson (10,272) - all of which offer a hybrid. 

Only the Mazda CX-5 (11,991) sells as well as these without a hybrid option.

“So that traditionally has not been a segment we were particularly strong in - the hybrid mid-size SUV segment. 

“Obviously, we had a mild-hybrid, but our latest tech is cutting-edge in that. So absolutely we see volume growing.”

New brands BYD and GWM have leapfrogged Subaru and knocked the Japanese stalwart out of the top-10 brands by sales volume in Australia.

That, Lawrence said, isn’t a do-or-die metric, but added he would of course like to see the brand back in the list.

“Subaru has never been the cheapest, and we actually don't want to be. We want to make sure we have the right cars: quality, reliable, it's the full package,” he said.

It links back to something else he said: “We need to, more than ever, be Subaru. That's crucial for us”.

“We have an absolute ambition to stay in that top 10. Absolutely. And we have some really exciting products that we’ll announce in the next few months.”

While he wouldn’t be drawn on what those products are, we know the brand’s off-road focused Wilderness variants are set to arrive at some point — potentially for Crosstrek, Forester, and Outback — and the Toyota C-HR+-based Subaru Uncharted EV has just been revealed in North America.

There’s also the roughly-Outback-sized Trailseeker, though questions loom over its 420km driving range for an adventure companion.

“My view anyway, is always focus on the customer,” Lawrence said regarding how the brand expects to bolster its sales figures.

“You look after customers and you've got the right product, [then] the sales ranks look after themselves. So that's a long way away of saying, volume will grow.”