Subaru: Supply-chain woes, pandemic hurt 2021 sales

CAMDEN - Subaru of America has reported a drop in vehicle sales for 2021, its second straight annual decline.

The firm, which also reported sharply lower sales for December, said it was hurt by supply-chain shortages and the continuing pandemic.

Subaru's sales of almost 584,000 vehicles last year were down by 4.6 percent from 2020. That followed a 12.6 percent decline for 2020 sales.

In contrast, Subaru set a U.S. sales record of more than 700,000 vehicles in pre-pandemic 2019. It ended that year with a 3 percent gain, its 12th straight annual increase.

Subaru's performance "could have been so much better" if not for supply woes and the COVID-19 virus, Thomas Doll, the firm's president and CEO, said in a statement.

"We look forward to improving conditions in 2022 which should allow us to return to growth mode," he said.

"For 2022, we're confident our production capability will improve," added Jeff Waters, the firm's senior vice president of sales.

He predicted a boost from new Wilderness models in the Forester and Outback lines, as well as new BRZ and WRX vehicles.

Subaru also plans to offer its first electric vehicle, the Solterra, by mid-year, he said.

The company ended the year with a 19.5 percent decline in December sales from a year earlier. Subaru last reported a monthly sales increase in May 2021.

Subaru's top performers in 2021 were the Forester, with about 154,700 sales, and the Outback, with about 154,600 sales. But Forester sales finished the year down 12.6 perent; the Outback eked out a gain of 0.9 percent.

But Subaru noted annual declines of 20.3 percent for its Impreza, 16.4 percent for the Legacy, and 11.3 percent for the Ascent.

Crosstrek sales rose 6.5 percent for the year.

The company also noted gains for two performance vehicles with considerably smaller markets.

Sales of about 27,000 WRX/STI models represented a 28.2 percent gain for the year. The BRZ had a 2.3 percent gain with sales of about 2,300 vehicles.

The Camden firm, owned by Subaru Corp. of Japan, markets vehicles through more than 630 dealers across the United States.

Jim Walsh covers public safety, economic development and other beats for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.

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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Subaru of America reports drop in annual sales for multiple models