Subaru is reportedly spending over $10k per vehicle to sell its EVs

Subaru currently offers significant incentives to make its EVs more desirable, and while Electrek points out that this has been boosting sales, it is quickly taking a toll on the company’s profits.

For context, Subaru currently sells three EV models in North America: the updated Solterra, the Uncharted, and the Trailseeker—which, funnily enough, are all unavailable in Canada until 2027 (seriously, try to price out a 2026 online; you can’t!).

I imagine the unavailability is partially due to the reintroduction of the EV rebate in February, as the company also dropped the price of both the Trailseeker and Solterra for 2027, bringing both cars under the $50k limit.

Marketing is getting pricey

Following the automaker’s fiscal first-quarter (Q1) earnings report on Wednesday, Subaru noted that incentive spending resulted in a ¥24.9 billion (approx. C$220 million) hit to profits. According to Motor Intelligence data quoted by Automotive News, Subaru’s marketing costs per vehicle rose 40 per cent to US$2,968 (approx. C$4,137).

The report also noted that average spending on EVs was considerably higher. Subaru spent, on average, US$9,650 (C$13,452) on the Solterra, US$9,155 (C$12,762) on the Uncharted, and US$8,982 (C$ 12,521) on the Trailseeker. As a comparison, the average spending on the Outback was only US$3,036 (C$4,232).

This higher spending led to a 44 per cent drop in Subaru’s operating profit, which totalled ¥42.6 billion (approx. C$377 million) in its fiscal Q1.

Now, I also should add that Subaru’s EVs all share a platform (and development) with Toyota, which also sells three EVs in North America: the new bZ, C-HR, and Woodland.

Source: Electrek