Turns Out, Subaru Killed Off Its Only Sedan with a Significant Sales Jump Last Year

Now that the haze of the holiday season is finally in the rearview, automakers are taking stock of their performance last year by looking at sales across their respective model ranges.

Throughout the industry, things generally trended towards contraction, but there are nevertheless some surprising insights to be gained when you dive into all the data. Take Subaru, for example.

Over the course of 2025, the Japanese automaker was down by some 3.6 percent overall. However, amidst the decline, two models did demonstrate improvements: the Crosstrek and the Legacy.

Subaru

While it comes as no surprise that the former remains one of the brand’s most popular options, a 13.6 percent improvement for the latter is more than a little unexpected. After announcing the discontinuation of the Legacy in 2024, Subaru finally brought an end to production last year.

A year of few exceptions

Moreover, the shift is especially telling when you consider it in contrast to the brand’s other models (and historically popular sellers). 

Subaru

For instance, the WRX fell by 41.2  percent in 2025, with just 10,930 examples moved. While Subaru has previously stated to Carbuzz that it was shifting production in favor of the Forester, that nevertheless amounts to a marked drop of some 7,657 cars. Of course, the most recent model has also become significantly more expensive since its introduction in 2022, up by almost several grand compared to its original MSRP.

It’s a similar story with the BRZ, even if the fall-off isn’t as sharp. With the elimination of the base trim for 2025, the entry point was made more expensive than ever. Compared to 2024, then, sales were down by some 13.8 percent to 2,882. 

Subaru

The declines weren’t limited to enthusiast vehicles, either. Following the discontinuation of the federal EV tax credit, the Solterra (predictably) took a dive, falling 13.9 percent for the year and 57.3 percent in December alone, down to some 10,715 cars throughout 2025.

What’s more, the three-row Ascent continued to exhibit slowing sales, even despite a brief uptick in December. Down by 21.1 percent in 2025 to 44,400 cars, not even a 7.4 percent increase at the end of the year could salvage the result.

Subaru

Trending towards crossovers

In any case, given that just two models demonstrated improvement last year — the Crosstrek at 5.5 percent up to 191,724 cars and the Legacy at 13.6 percent up to 22,212 cars — it’ll be interesting to see how Subaru’s lineup fares for 2026.

Sure, numbers for the Legacy aren’t much compared to those for the Crosstrek, but the uptick does demonstrate a distinct buyer appreciation (or at least a kind of nostalgia) for the sedan’s, er, legacy. 

Subaru

Moreover, it helps to have options. Mainstays like the Forester were already stagnant in their sales growth last year (down 0.3 percent to 175,070 cars), and Subaru has only since made its lineup even more homogenous.

Between unveiling a redesigned Outback that’s more SUV-like in proportions and launching more electric options in the Trailseeker and the Uncharted, the brand has built out a very crossover-heavy lineup with some significant overlaps.

Subaru

Granted, both EVs are distinct from what Subaru currently offers in the Solterra (and are priced as such). However, given that model’s decline in sales at the end of last year — amidst an overall EV about-face, no less — one can’t help but wonder if pricing will be enough to sway buyers from more conventional options, like the Crosstrek and the Forester.

Regardless of what you attribute the increased sales of the Legacy to, there’s no denying that Subaru seems to be following other automakers in its focus on high-volume crossovers and SUVs. Let’s hope that it can simultaneously find its way again with a revival of long-adored names like STI.

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