Subaru takes a dilemma as it creates its new seven-seat crossover

Subaru conceived the Levorg, its new compact estate based on the Impreza, aimed primarily at the Japanese market. In early 2015 it confirmed that it had changed its plans and had added Europe to the list of regions where the model will be sold, presenting it shortly afterwards at the Geneva Motor Show.

What is already known is that it will not be offered in North America, since Subaru is developing another idea that is better suited to its customers’ tastes. As explained by the corporate vice president in charge of marketing for Fuji Heavy Industries – the parent company of Subaru – Nobuhiko Murakami, speaking to Automotive News, the product will take the form of a seven-seat crossover bigger than the Outback, to compete against the big rivals in the segment in the US, such as the Nissan Pathfinder or the Toyota Highlander.

This vehicle, which for now is not expected to be launched in Europe, will go on sale in America in 2017 and will be built at the Lafayette plant in Indiana, Fuji Heavy’s only factory abroad. The manufacturer is now debating an initial question in the boardroom: what character to give this crossover.

The options under consideration are an adventurous and rugged style, similar to the Outback’s, or another more distinctive look closer to that of the Forester, both models recently road-tested at Highmotor.

What Subaru is clear about is that it must not repeat the commercial failure of the Tribeca. The new crossover will offer more interior space than that model, Murakami added, and the commercial strategy being planned for it will be defined with much more caution.

The FHI executive acknowledged that they have limited resources and only by focusing on the United States will they have a chance of avoiding another disaster. The Tribeca’s approach proved mistaken in many ways, starting with the design of the first version launched in 2006, and while sales of the Forester and the Outback are growing at a satisfactory pace, those of the Tribeca collapsed until its production ended in January 2014.

Via | Automotive News