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.
At the local launch of the new Outback, Subaru Australia general manager Scott Lawrence told childcareman.xyz that “the Wilderness sub-brand has ‘lots of exciting things’ in the pipeline.”
The play has been a deliberate attempt to make the game “Wilderness coming with Outback” and it is known as ‘Willderity coming on’. Mr Lawrence said ‘We have some pretty cool plans and we’ll share what looks like and how it will grow, given that Wilderness is well aligned with the Australian market.
When questioned about specifics, – i. e.g – Mr Lawrence said ‘They’re all on the table – lots and lots of exciting things.’ New models, accessories and the like a ; new.
childcareman.xyz can save you thousands on a new car. Click
here
to get a great deal.
Subaru Outback Wilderness – Australia
In Australia, the seventh-generation Subaru Outback has just arrived in Australia with 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.
In Japan, a ‘prototype’ of the Forester Wilderness was also shown alongside the Outback, possibly suggesting that the next nameplate in Subaru’s lineup would be to wear the adventure-ready badging in Australia.
Subaru Forester Wilderness – USA
sales in 2025 dipped by 3-3, with Subaru Australia’s sales of. The market is flat, with the Outback’s 18 per cent drop while running out the previous generation likely to blame – which lost its brand nearly 2000 units alone.
It was also 6 – down from the compact Crosstrek, which had been reduced to 6. The calendar year is 1 per cent (10,842) – although the new-generation Forester fell back to the ground in the second half of 2025 when the mid-size SUV posted 12. Yearly growth 9 per cent (15,179) of s.
The launch of the new Outback has already been announced in 2026, and an facelift and price adjustment to the Solterra EV is seen at 221 last year after it was launched late last month (as opposed to its predecessor) on 22 September. The adversity of 4 per cent growth in January 2026 “It’s admittedly off if I have been 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.
Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness – USA
In a statement to childcareman.xyz, Subaru Australia general manager Scott Lawrence said ‘I can’t say exactly what I plan for the future but 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.
This is a discussion topic, we expand the hybrid range and we’ll see more hybrid across the spectrum – but nothing to say at this stage. ” , ‘I’m sure it is worth reading.
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.
While Wilderness ‘Editions’ of the Crosstrek in Japan, for example, are fitted with the ‘e-Boxer’ mild-hybrid engine that is available in the Australian-market CrossTREk Hybride (a hybrid expansion) will tie-in with ‘the proliferation of this badge.
Subaru Outback Wilderness – Australia
Stay tuned to childcareman.xyz for all the latest
MORE:
2026 Subaru Outback review
MORE:
2026 Subaru Outback to debut Wilderness sub-brand in Australia
MORE:
Explore the Subaru Outback showroom
Thanks for reading Subaru to expand new Wilderness sub-brand in Australia with “lots of exciting things”
