The brand has decided to stop selling Subaru Crosstrek hybrid as the model had a very short and lackluster presence in the automobile market.
Whenever a car fails to meet expectations and doesn’t deliver enough revenue, automobile manufacturers usually choose to discontinue the particular variant. The Subaru Crosstrek hybrid met with the same fate. It was originally launched at the 2013 New York auto show and was known as the XV Crosstek hybrid back then.
The car was later named in a much simpler manner as the Crosstrek hybrid. It was powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine which can render a total power output of 160 horsepower. The numbers include the power delivered by the engine and the electric motor used in the hybrid model. While Subaru has planned to launch new hybrid models in the near future, they are not going to make anymore Crosstrek variants as of now.
“We are still interested in this market and there is no plan to leave the hybrid segment totally. At the moment, the team is working on a new hybrid vehicle. It is too early to talk about the specifications of the car but we will be coming back to the hybrids real soon,” said Jeff Walters, executive Vice President of sales for Subaru’s American division.
The upcoming car is expected to be built on the same global platform used by many Subaru cars. It was first introduced with the 5th generation Impreza and has proved successful ever since. The platform is quite robust with a rigid body and has enough space for a hybrid vehicle’s batteries to be mounted. It can also be used to build electric cars as well as plug-in hybrid models if Subaru opines it is the way to go to build a strong future in the automobile industry.
While the Subaru Crosstrek hybrid didn’t meet sales expectations set by the brand, overall sales of the car jumped from 3.1 percent to 11.4 percent this year confirming the fact that buyers are ready to move into new era of vehicles. Electric cars are being fully supported by mainstream audience and some of them find hybrids as well as plug-in hybrids a good way to start adopting eco-friendly vehicles.
The Crosstrek hybrid models available with individual dealers are still up for sale and those who are planning to buy one can do so. Subaru will reveal more information on their future hybrid version probably in 2017.
