Subaru Australia has finally brought its more rugged ‘Wilderness‘ badge Down Under, starting with the latest generation of Outback crossover SUV – and according to the brand’s local boss, there’s more to come.
Scott Lawrence, Subaru Australia general manager, told CarExpert at the local launch of the new Outback that the Wilderness sub-brand has “lots of exciting things” in the pipeline.
“Wilderness coming with Outback has been a deliberate play. Given how well aligned Wilderness is with the Australian market, we have some pretty cool plans and we’ll share what that looks like and how it will grow,” Mr Lawrence said.
When asked about specifics – i.e. new models, accessories and the like – Mr Lawrence said: “[They’re] all on the table – lots and lots of exciting things”.
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The seventh-generation Subaru Outback has just landed in Australia, headlined by two Wilderness variants that add more ground clearance, improved approach and departure angles, underbody protection, adaptive suspension, and an additional profile for the off-road-focused X-Mode – among other styling and equipment changes.
Subaru of America offers a number of Wilderness models in the States, based on not just the Outback but also the Crosstrek and Forester SUVs. Stateside, other upgrades include more rugged all-terrain tyres which aren’t yet available in Australia.
The Japanese brand announced at the Tokyo motor show in October that it would be expanding on the Wilderness and STI sub-brands in the domestic market as adventure and performance arcs under the broader Subaru umbrella, which actually followed Mr Lawrence’s confirmation of Wilderness models for Australia in May.
A ‘prototype’ of the Forester Wilderness was also shown in Japan alongside the Outback, potentially hinting at the next nameplate in Subaru’s lineup to wear the adventure-ready badging in Australia.
Subaru Australia’s sales in 2025 dipped by 3.9 per cent in a flat overall market, with the Outback’s 18 per cent slide while running out the previous generation likely to blame – that lost the brand nearly 2000 units alone.
The compact Crosstrek was also down by 6.1 per cent (10,842) for the calendar year, though the new-generation Forester clawed back ground in the second half of 2025, with the mid-size SUV posting 12.9 per cent growth (15,179) for the year.
2026 has already seen the launch of the new Outback, while the Solterra EV has seen a facelift and price adjustment late last year, translating to 221.4 per cent growth in January 2026 – admittedly off a low base (45 units).
Subaru Australia has also promised the larger Trailseeker EV for the coming months, likely adding incremental volume rather than Forester or Outback levels of sales, and the local boss has also hinted at an expansion of hybrid products this year.
Speaking with CarExpert, Subaru Australia general manager Scott Lawrence said while he couldn’t share exact plans as yet, there will be “more hybrid across the range”.
“Our response [to NVES] is portfolio-wide [and] product-led, as you would have seen with Forester Hybrid last year, Solterra updates and Trailseeker, with a lot more to come in the broader hybridisation and electrification space,” Mr Lawrence said.
“It is a discussion point, how we expand the hybrid range, and we will see more hybrid across the range – but nothing to share at this point.”
When asked specifically about the Crosstrek S:HEV ‘Strong Hybrid’ and Impreza ‘e-Boxer’ mild-hybrid Mr Lawrence said he had “no plans” to share at this point in time, but both compact model lines would logically be the next cabs off the rank.
It’s unclear, however, whether the hybrid expansion will tie-in with the proliferation of the Wilderness badge, though Wilderness ‘Editions’ of the Crosstrek in Japan, for example, are fitted with the ‘e-Boxer’ mild-hybrid engine available in the Australian-market Crosstrek Hybrid.
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