Subaru Car Production : 2017/18 (April-March)

Subaru reports its sales from April to March, which is what this data is based on. Sales passed the one million mark for the second time in its history. Volume is based around three main model groups.

The 5th generation Impreza, XV and WRX that came out in 2016 is the best selling with over 400,000 units sold.

The 6th generation Legacy and Outback models came out in 2014 and 290,000 found homes.

The 5th generation Forester has been released but hasn't had an impact on sales listed here as yet, as these sales are up to March 2018. It still managed to amass 280,000 units sold.

The 'Mini' is actually a group of Kei cars sold in Japan. Models names the Chiffon, Dias Wagon, Justy, Pleo and Stella (all Toyota/Daihatsu models) barely pass 30,000 sales. Then comes the Levorg, a medium to large wagon that is the wagon variant of the Legacy. OEM stands for original equipment manufacturer, an ambiguous term I'm unsure the meaning of in this context.

17	18		2018	%	+/-		2017	%	+/-
2	1	Imprez/XV/WRX	424,412	39.8%	23%		344,187	32.3%	12%
1	2	Legacy/Outback	291,174	27.3%	-15%		344,404	32.4%	15%
3	3	Forester	278,992	26.1%	-6%		297,007	27.9%	9%
4	4	Mini	30,889	2.9%	-5%		32,542	3.1%	-3%
5	5	Levorg	25,255	2.4%	-17%		30,598	2.9%	-2%
6	6	BRZ	9,339	0.9%	5%		8,880	0.8%	-5%
7	7	Exiga	3,498	0.3%	-18%		4,284	0.4%	-5%
8	8	Tribeca	1	0.0%	-86%		7	0.0%	-79%
		OEM	2,889	0.3%	40%		2,066	0.2%	134%
		Others	480	0.0%	-15%		567	0.1%	13%
		Total	1,066,929		0%		1,064,542		11%

It's hard to believe that the US and Canada buy so many Subaru cars. In fact close to 70% of the total. The brand is a minor player in its home market. Australia takes many more cars than the whole of Europe too. Its also not reliant on China like many companies are. Certainly a unique car manufacturer. 

17	18		2018	%	+/-		2017	%	+/-
1	1	North America	727,751	68.2%	1%		720,674	67.7%	14%
2	2	Japan	163,444	15.3%	3%		158,935	14.9%	9%
3	3	Australia	55,674	5.2%	13%		49,106	4.6%	10%
5	4	Rest	52,960	5.0%	16%		45,574	4.3%	-12%
4	5	Europe	40,228	3.8%	-13%		46,253	4.3%	11%
6	6	China	26,872	2.5%	-39%		44,000	4.1%	-1%
		Total	1,066,929		0%		1,064,542		11%

Data source: Subaru.

World Car Awards : 2019

Awards are subjective. Even those knowledgeable in any field of human endeavour can and do often disagree. However, people love them so here are the 2019 World Car Awards:


World Urban Car: Suzuki Jimny.

This award surprised me but if interior space isn't an issue, then this will be a funky town car to own and scoot around in.

World Luxury Car: Audi A7.

Audi are known for doing nice interiors and that's going to go a long way in the luxury segment. I'm sure it's  a pleasant place to spent time in.

World Performance Car: Mclaren 720S.

A worthy winner in my opinion as this company seem to be making the best super cars. They are even refusing to build an SUV (shock, horror), keeping their focus on what the do - super sports cars.

World Green Car: Jaguar i-Pace.

Not a surprise here as it is a great car to drive and yet - depending how power is generated - is not burning fossil fuel.


World Car Design of the Year: Jaguar i-Pace.

How a small marque like Jaguar managed to put a vehicle engineered as an electric car onto the market first was a real coup. It looks like a regular car but in many people's eyes attractively styled. It also has features like air sent over the rear window, negating the need for a rear wiper.

World Car of the Year: Jaguar i-Pace.

Err, that's number three for one model. That's right, judged the best car of all. Nothing can be added except to say well done Jaguar. Sometimes fortune favours the brave.

Škoda Global Model Production : 2017-18

Škoda has a winner in the Octavia car, which commanded over 30% of all production, despite it losing some volume. In fact, Škoda lost ground with all of its cars in 2018, but thankfully its SUV range was able to rescue things. SUVs have jumped to over a quarter of the total, both with impressive increases.

15	16	17	18	Models	2018	%	+/-		2017	%	+/-
1	1	1	1	Octavia	400,210	31.1%	-5%		420,802	34.2%	-6%
3	2	2	2	Rapid	195,270	15.2%	-7%		210,002	17.0%	-3%
2	3	3	3	Fabia	186,213	14.5%	-11%		209,471	17.0%	3%
4	5	6	4	Karoq/Yeti	173,816	13.5%	112%		81,963	6.7%	-14%
-	7	5	5	Kodiaq	155,499	12.1%	25%		123,982	10.1%
5	4	4	6	Superb	136,985	10.7%	-7%		147,103	11.9%	-1%
6	6	7	7	Citigo	37,095	2.9%	-4%		38,749	3.1%	-6%
				Total	1,285,088		4%		1,232,072		7%

With regional sales, we see the limited scope of Škoda. It sells strongly in Europe and China, but that's about it. Of course, it has the volumes to be successful where it is currently so expansion seems to be mainly in the Asia/Pacific at present.

15	16	17	18	Region	2018	%	+/-		2017	%	+/-
1	1	1	1	Europe/Other	880,308	70.2%	3%		851,840	70.4%	9%
2	2	2	2	Asia Pacific	372,438	29.7%	4%		356,950	29.5%	5%
3	3	3	3	Sth America	1,254	0.1%	4%		1,210	0.1%	7%
				Total	1,254,000		4%		1,210,000		7%

Data source: VW Group.