Tuesday 4th February 2020

Subaru BRZ prices rise - dramatically

Failure to meet CO2 targets means range-wide fines - time to try secondhand!

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The Subaru BRZ really doesn't get any luck, does it? Not only did its Toyota twin get the majority of the attention before sale, but the '86 has also outsold the Scooby for the past seven years. According to HowManyLeft, there are just 835 BRZs registered in the UK, against more than 6,000 GT86s. Really.

Now the situation is getting even worse for the BRZ, at least until the replacement car turns up, with a £4k price rise being reported by Autocar. That's thanks to Subaru being hit with fines for not complying with the reduced fleet CO2 average imposed by the EU - 2021's 95g/km average being phased in this year. For every gram per kilometre that a manufacturer exceeds the average, it is fined €95. Given Subaru doesn't yet have an electric car in its range, or a credits deal in place like FCA and Tesla, it isn't hard to see how it will have failed to meet the target.

As such, the price of a BRZ has gone up 15 per cent, its £31,995 list price up £4,160. The rest of the range has seen prices climb by up to £3,000, too. The price of an '86 is unchanged. Subaru says there have been no price increases in two years, and that the rises are due to a combination of factors rather than the CO2 issue specifically.

Don't expect to see many more BRZs registered this year, then - £32k is quite a lot of money. A shame, really, because the Subaru is a great little car. Let's all be encouraged, then, by the cars on offer second-hand: this 2017 example is £20k with 10,000 miles, resplendent in WR Blue, and delivery mileage cars are still on offer at the £25k they cost back in 2012. No time like the present, after all.

[GTEYE]

You can only assume they will drip the last few in stock quietly onto the market, and quietly take it off sale.

And nobody will even notice.

[Vee12V]

For every 10 cars they build, 8 are GT86s en 2 BRZs. That's part of the reason why there are more Toyotas out there. I prefer the BRZ though.

[Wammer]

Article said:

Given Subaru doesn't yet have an electric car in its range

So the all new Subaru Forester e-Boxer does count then. Come on Pistonheads do some research before publishing stories.

[MKnight702]

Vee12V said:

For every 10 cars they build, 8 are GT86s en 2 BRZs. That's part of the reason why there are more Toyotas out there. I prefer the BRZ though.

Umm, surely this is as a result of the orders placed?

[DanielSan]

MKnight702 said:

Vee12V said:

For every 10 cars they build, 8 are GT86s en 2 BRZs. That's part of the reason why there are more Toyotas out there. I prefer the BRZ though.

Umm, surely this is as a result of the orders placed?

Nope, it was written into the agreement when Toyota and Subaru went into the project that the majority of cars built would be 86's

[vaud]

Wammer said:

Article said:

Given Subaru doesn't yet have an electric car in its range

So the all new Subaru Forester e-Boxer does count then. Come on Pistonheads do some research before publishing stories.

It's a hybrid rather than electric? Also the-Boxer hybrid is still 154g/km so not helping towards the 95g/km. Need all electric models to get the average down.

[bluesierra]

These targets aren't a surprise - they've been in the pipeline for a good few years now. So does this mean that car manufacturers' plans (Subaru and VW for starters) were always just to jack up the prices by passing along the EU fines? Or had they just forgotten and have now panicked?

[Shappers24]

The interior of the gt86 was never brilliant... but the BRZ was even worse. The original sat nav unit looked like some cheap aftermarket stereo, and I seem to recall a random immobiliser light slapped on the dash... I think the facelift in 2017 may have helped the interior (it certainly lifted the gt86) but given how the cars are neigh on identical mechanically I’m not sure why you’d pay the extra for the brz

[vaud]

I loved the Spanish BRZ advert, mostly for sheer cheese (and that adverts like this are not allowed in the UK)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzjEnxg3GYE

[cerb4.5lee]

I always slightly favoured the BRZ because of that lovely Blue colour and that fact that it is a little bit more rare.

[mike-v2tmf]

If only the Subaru had a turbo......

[skinny]

They were fined €95 per gram over - Per car?
So this means it's >40g over the limit...? Ouch

Edited by skinny on Tuesday 4th February 15:47

[Harry_523]

Passing emissions fines onto customers will be the end of any manufacturer who does it so blatantly, this is a horribly misjudged move by subaru.

Now, where else can I get a rapid, good value 4wd saloon car that does skids and has a ropey interior.....

[Dave Hedgehog]

mike-v2tmf said:

If only the Subaru had a turbo......

a small 3 pot that screams to 9k

they knew these regulations where coming when they decided to stick an old cheap engine they had on the shelf in the car

[phil4]

Harry_523 said:

Passing emissions fines onto customers will be the end of any manufacturer who does it so blatantly, this is a horribly misjudged move by subaru.

Now, where else can I get a rapid, good value 4wd saloon car that does skids and has a ropey interior.....

Spot on, they'll only sell to the die-hard fans doing that.

[Greg the Fish]

Belongs on the crap plate thread that one!

[james_gt3rs]

Well, they've sealed the fate of the BRZ then!

[Hammerhead]

vaud said:

I loved the Spanish BRZ advert, mostly for sheer cheese (and that adverts like this are not allowed in the UK)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzjEnxg3GYE

Brilliant!

Slept with the lights on though, odd!

[CedricN]

The fun car sector will sadly be slaughtered coming years, with the current eu taxes/fines Subaru should probably pull out of the EU completely if they don't start selling PHEV/BEV vehicles very soon. It will be really really tough for them.

[kieranblenk]

I wouldn't be surprised if Subaru pulls out of the EU market within the next year or two..