Subaru spends $9,650 in marketing per Solterra EV sold

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Marketing costs at Subaru have soared as it tries to sell its EVs.

In the last quarter, Subaru spent $9,650 for each Solterra sold.

In July, just 1,574 Solterra, Uncharted, and Trailseeker EVs found new homes.

Subaru has thrown an extraordinary amount of money at selling EVs in the US, and it has almost nothing to show for it. The Solterra , Uncharted, and Trailseeker remain exceptionally niche vehicles for the automaker. In July, the WRX almost outsold all three of them combined.

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The company ramped up incentive spending during the April-June period, and it shows. Those expenses cut ¥24.9 billion ($153.8 million) from global earnings and accounted for most of the decline. Marketing costs in the US jumped 40 percent in the second quarter, averaging $2,698 per vehicle, even as the company poured more into its electric models.

Subaru Outback

According to Autonews, citing industry data from Motor Intelligence, incentives on cars including the BRZ, Outback, and Legacy rose 27 percent, while average spending on trucks climbed 49 percent.

Read: WRX Sales Nearly Quadruple In June After Subaru Slashed Prices By Over $5,000

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Even after the increase, Subaru’s average incentive spending stayed below the industry average of $3,479 per vehicle. Its 40 percent year-over-year jump, however, dwarfed the wider market’s 4.4 percent rise.

The EV Math Gets Ugly

Subaru Uncharted

Motor Intelligence reports that Subaru spent an average of $9,155 for every Uncharted sold last quarter, $9,650 for every Solterra, and $8,982 per Trailseeker. For comparison, average incentives on the Outback ran $3,036. None of the three electric models looks capable of meaningfully expanding Subaru’s slice of the EV market.

The heavy spending follows the repeal of federal EV tax credits last year, which stripped away support that had propped up demand.

Big Expenses, But Low Sales

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Sales data shows that through the first seven months of this year, Subaru delivered 5,275 examples of the Solterra, down 34.6 percent compared to 8,063 sold over the same period last year. In July, sales tumbled 91.2 percent from 1,562 to just 138 units. The Trailseeker and Uncharted are newer entrants to Subaru’s range, so sales figures can’t be compared to this time last year, as they weren’t available.

Subaru Trailseeker

Nonetheless, they’re certainly not setting any records. Year-to-date, 3,513 Trailseekers have been sold, and 2,850 Uncharted models. In July, 359 Uncharted models were delivered, as well as1,077 Trailseekers. Add up that month’s figures for all three EVs, and you get just 1,574 units, barely ahead of the WRX’s 1,438.

As the spending climbed, Subaru’s operating profit fell from $472 million in the fiscal quarter ended June 30 last year to $263.2 million over the same period this year.

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Subaru Sales July ’26

July ’26 July ’25 % Chg YTD ’26 YTD ’25 % Chg

Ascent 4,152 3,007 38.1% 23,770 24,486 -2.9%

BRZ 233 222 4.9% 1,785 1,887 -5.4%

Crosstrek 15,789 17,628 -10.4% 103,412 107,962 -4.2%

Forester 15,873 11,886 33.5% 123,727 107,858 14.7%

Impreza 1,458 2,373 -38.6% 9,840 17,351 -43.3%

Legacy 20 1,918 -98.9% 2,201 13,076 -83.2%

Outback 13,917 14,982 -7.1% 76,875 88,239 -12.9%

Solterra 138 1,562 -91.2% 5,275 8,063 -34.6%

Trailseeker 1,077 0 0% 3,513 0 0%

Uncharted 359 0 0% 2,850 0 0%

WRX 1,438 457 214.7% 8,546 6,888 24.1%

TOTAL 54,454 54,035 0.8% 361,794 375,810 -3.7%

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