Subaru NZ enters the sought-after hybrid market
The Subaru Forester (left) and XV hybrids will be in NZ dealerships from June 1. Photo: Subaru NZ
Subaru New Zealand is taking on the highly popular Toyota RAV4 hybrid with the introduction of two all-wheel-drive e-Boxer SUVs from June 1.
Subaru NZ is launching Forester and XV hybrids at its 16 dealerships around the country.
Subaru NZ’s managing director, Wallis Dumper, warned keen Kiwis that only a limited number of the all-wheel-drive e-Boxer hybrids will be available in 2020.
“Customers who are keen on owning one of our e-Boxer hybrids will need to move quickly as between limited factory production and global demand, New Zealand has only managed to secure small quantities of around 10-20 per month, with an initial allocation of 20 to be delivered in September and October,” said Dumper.
Toyota NZ had such demand for its RAV4 hybrid that there was an eight-month waiting list.
Subaru’s SUVs have identical petrol-electric engines, with both models featuring e-Boxer power – a 2-litre horizontally opposed Boxer engine linked via Motor Assist to a high voltage lithium ion battery – offering fuel economy benefits, particularly in congested city driving.
The Forester hybrid starts at $47,490 with 19 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency. Photo: Subaru NZ
The XV hybrid offers over 14 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency over equivalent petrol variants in the urban cycle and over 7 per cent improvement in the combined cycle.
The Forester hybrid offers an improvement of over 9 per cent (compared to 2.5-litre petrol variants) in the combined cycle and over 19 per cent in the urban cycle (when tested in accordance with ADR81/02).
“Forester and XV have both been huge successes in our range and we know there is pent-up demand for hybrid variants among our Subaru owners, who are some of the most loyal customers in the industry,” said Dumper.
Forester Sport e-Boxer hybrid is priced from $47,490, through to the range-topping Forester Premium e-Boxer Hybrid at $54,990.
The hybrid version of Subaru’s top-selling XV model is $42,490.
The Subaru XV hybrid is $42,490 and has 14 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency. Photo: Subaru NZ
“It’s almost as though these hybrids are engineered for New Zealand and chances are that lots of Kiwis will be wanting to get out and road trip around our great country, more than ever before, as heading overseas is not an option right now.
“When local tourism is reborn, these e-Boxer Hybrids come with the added benefit of being made for our environment, both from a capability perspective and treading a little lighter on it too!” said Dumper.