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Hi everyone, and welcome to the September 5th,
2025 episode of the Automotive News Canada podcast.
I'm your host, Greg Lason, the digital
and mobile editor at Automotive News Canada,
coming to you from just outside Windsor, Ontario,
the automotive capital of Canada.
Today on the show, we'll hear
from Subaru Canada car line manager, Brad Evans.
He talks with Automotive News Canada publisher,
Tim Domopoulos about Subaru's electrification strategy,
new product, demographics, target consumers
and what makes Subaru stand out.
All that and more, but first,
a look at some of the top Canadian
automotive stories of the week.
New vehicle sales are starting to show signs
of stress from the broader economic slowdown
and trade disputes.
Automakers in August sold an estimated 160,000
new vehicles, that according
to DeRosier Automotive Consultants,
that marks a 2.9% decrease over last year.
It's the first year over year
monthly sales decline since February.
DeRosier says the industry is treading water,
trying to mitigate tariff impacts,
all while waiting for clarity on a potential trade deal.
In EV News, the proliferation of electric vehicles
with their lower maintenance requirements
has not led to a drop in service bay visits.
That, according to DeRosier Automotive News,
Canada recently spoke to.
But those same dealers say they expect competition
from independent repair shops
for the lucrative EV maintenance market,
especially once factory warranties expire.
Says Group Ceylon, vice president,
Alexandra Ceylon, I think the aftermarket
will invest more and more as the market grows.
Meanwhile, vice president of Sherbrooke Mitsubishi,
Maxime Boccage says the brand's only EV model,
the Outlander Plug-In Hybrid SUV,
has a maintenance schedule similar to that of an ICE vehicle.
Says Boccage, that means routine maintenance
is still very much part of our service operations.
And finally, we end with product news.
Honda is reviving the Prelude nameplate.
It returns to dealerships this fall
after a 25-year hiatus.
The Prelude's only available powertrain will be hybrid.
The 2026 Prelude is also the first to have a lift back.
Previous generations only offered a trunk.
You can see several photos of the new Prelude
on our website.
And that's a look at some of the top Canadian automotive
stories of the week.
Coming up, a conversation between Automotive News
Canada publisher Tim Domopoulos
and Subaru Canada carline manager, Brad Evans.
Flexible, full spectrum and focused on the future
of this great industry with over one million customers
served in relationships with over 6,100 dealers nationwide,
we pride ourselves on our competitive programs,
digital solutions, and award-winning satisfaction.
We're committed to making it easy to finance a vehicle
and grow your business anywhere, anytime.
Thank you for rating TD Auto Finance number one
in dealer satisfaction among non-captive, non-prime lenders
with retail credit, eight years in a row.
With your continued support, we were also recognized
as number one in dealer satisfaction among non-captive
prime lenders with retail credit in the JD Power 2025
Canada Dealer Financing Satisfaction Study.
Contact us today at 1-855-TD-AUTO-1
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every step of the vehicle buying journey.
For JD Power 2025 award information,
visit jdpower.com slash awards.
Welcome back to the Automotive News Canada podcast.
I'm your host, Greg Lason.
We'll now hear that conversation
between Automotive News Canada publisher Tim Domopoulos
and Subaru Canada carline manager, Brad Evans.
Brad, the Subaru lineup has become flexible
just in terms of power trains on offer.
You know, Subaru took a cautious approach
when it came to electrification,
but now there are more electrified choices
in all electric choices coming.
Tell me a little bit about how that has evolved
over the last little while
and how it's brought us to Salterra.
Sure. So, Subaru Canada's offered
a couple of different hybrid models
in the past 10 years or so.
Two different variants of the Crosstrek were hybridized.
One back in kind of the middle of the last decade
and one for 2022, I believe.
And now we've introduced the Salterra in 2023 model year.
And with that, we took our first proper step
into the full electric world.
Since the launch of that, there's been a lot of learnings.
There's been a lot of changes in the industry
and changes in customer demand and expectations.
Subaru is a brand that's known for outdoorsyness
and getting it into nature
and kind of having that association.
So it's really important to us to appeal to those customers
also that are looking for more environmentally friendly models.
Over the last couple of years,
starting with Salterra in 2023 model year,
we've also introduced a new hybrid version of the Forester.
We'll be launching a hybrid version of the Crosstrek
later this year.
And then early next year,
we'll have our next two full electric models,
the Uncharted and the Trailseeker,
which will kind of round out our EV family
for the time being.
Those three models will complement one another.
The Uncharted is kind of the smaller sibling,
more focused for urban and city living,
makes it easy to get around town.
The Salterra is more of an all-rounder.
It appeals to younger families,
probably suburban kind of dwellings
and offers a very long range and a lot of utility as well.
And then the Trailseeker will appeal
to those families and singles
who really want to kind of get out of the city.
It offers a lot of rugged capability and styling.
It'll really appeal to those who have
those really active lifestyles
and want to drive something that really screams Subaru.
It has that very wagon silhouette
that we've kind of been known for a long time.
So it'll appeal to all of our very loyal customers
who are expecting that kind of vehicle from us.
The Salterra has gone through a major refresh.
You called it a refresh.
I call it almost an all-new vehicle,
considering all the changes that went into it.
What led to making all these fundamental wholesale changes
to the vehicle in terms of its performance and its styling
and all the other good things
that have gone into the newer version?
What was the impetus to get it done
and get it done as quickly as you did?
So when we launched Salterra back in 2022,
again, it was our first foray into full electric vehicles.
So there was a lot to learn from that launch
and from the first few model years of Salterra.
There was lots of customer feedback
in areas where we could make improvements
and address some of that customer feedback.
So like you said, it was a quick turnaround
to make such major updates to the vehicle.
And we think that we've mainly addressed
almost all of the feedback that we had.
We've got an extremely competitive vehicle now.
It's got one of the highest all-wheel drive ranges
in the segment.
So we think that the learnings from launching back in 2022,
we've really applied a lot of that to the updated model.
And like you said, it's very nearly a completely new model.
So I think customers will find a lot of value
in the new car and they'll get a lot of enjoyment
out of it and it will deliver
exactly what they're expecting out of a Subaru.
So Brad, where do you think customers
for the Salterra are gonna come from?
Do you think it'll be conquest customers?
Do you think it'll be current owners
who are gonna trade up from a nice vehicle
that they have that might be a Subaru?
Tell me a little bit about where you think
those customers are gonna come from for Salterra.
So traditionally for Salterra,
we've seen a lot of the buyers for that vehicle
come from our existing pool of customers.
So a lot of loyal customers who have an adventurous side
but also want that kind of environmentally friendly
vehicle as well.
It's very likely that they have
multiple Subarus in the driveway,
some of which they can take on their long camping excursions
and then they wanted the more kind of
environmentally friendly option as well.
So they traded in another Subaru for a Salterra.
With the new car, we expect much of the same
but also the new vehicle is extremely competitive
within the segment and we suspect
that there'll be a lot more conquest opportunities
with the 26th of the year.
We think it'll be a good mix of conquest
and loyalty for the new car.
Speaking about loyal customers,
you mentioned that there'll be a very important part
of what's gonna make the Salterra a success.
Your loyal customers are probably looking at the Salterra
and hoping to find the Subaru DNA
that they're used to in the vehicles
they may currently own in this new Salterra
and in a new electric vehicle.
So what do you think the Salterra has
for just in terms of being able to transfer over
that the expectations of this,
what makes a Subaru into this new electric offering?
It's difficult to differentiate EVs much more so
than conventional ICE vehicles nowadays.
So some things that kind of set the Salterra apart
are things like our 210 millimeters of ground clearance
much higher than most of the competitors in the class.
Standard roof rails, things like that.
Our customers are those types of people
who put a bike rack on top
or a cargo basket up on top of their vehicle
and use them for camping and hauling things.
And so the Salterra is set up
for all types of activities already.
It appeals to those people's lifestyles.
So while EVs tend to kind of blend together
in terms of the driving experience,
we can set ourselves apart on utility and capability.
It has standard all-wheel drive, of course.
And with that comes X mode,
which is kind of something that Subaru is really known for.
Helps the vehicles perform off-road really well.
And again, it kind of sets us apart
from a lot of the competitors
for customers who are looking to kind of go the extra mile
and get off-road a little bit and enjoy their car.
Yeah, there's been a major amp up in performance too
with the current version of Salterra into the new version.
Tell me a little bit about some of the numbers
that surround the performance.
Compared to the outgoing model,
horsepower is up 57%, up to 338 horsepower from 215 previously.
So it's a dramatic change in the amount of power
that the vehicle delivers.
To go along with that, it has a slightly larger battery
up just over four kilowatt hours, up to 77 kilowatt hours,
which is standard across the lineup
with that size of battery.
We now are able to travel over 450 kilometers
on a single charge, which again,
is extremely competitive in the compact segment.
In addition to that,
we also have dramatically improved
the charging performance of the vehicle.
Kind of under ideal conditions,
we can charge the Salterra from 10 to 80%
in about 30 minutes.
And while that's fairly normal nowadays for EVs,
where we really stand out from the competition
is that that same 30 minutes applies all year round.
The new Salterra has a battery preconditioning system,
heats up the battery and prepares it for fast charging
so that in temperatures down to minus 10,
it'll perform as if it was 25 degrees out
and customers will be able to kind of be able
to depend on consistent
and predictable charging times all year round.
There's also been some major changes
in terms of how customers interact
with their vehicles through an app
and also through the infotainment system, which has changed.
So tell me a little bit about the changes
in those two areas.
Sure, so starting with the infotainment,
the screen size has now been enlarged to 14 inches
and that's standard across the entire lineup.
It comes with features like wireless Apple CarPlay
and Android Auto.
Also standard are two side-by-side wireless device chargers
in the center console
because of the wireless CarPlay and Android Auto,
customers can set their phones down,
they don't need to worry about that,
those systems draining their batteries
and getting where they need to go.
In addition, the infotainment screen handles
things like HVAC duties,
it's got some clever design features
where hard buttons are kind of integrated
into the screen, so it's a nicely designed unit.
It also controls things like the battery preconditioning
system, like I mentioned.
Also, complimenting the new infotainment system,
we've got Subaru Connect,
which is an updated version
of the previous Soltera Connect app
and that will let owners of the Soltera
or Uncharted or Trailseeker when they arrive
be able to control functions of their vehicle,
like presetting their climate controls
for when they get in the vehicle,
managing their charging schedules,
finding chargers out and around the cities
and also it will allow customers
to integrate all of their different charging apps
for the various charger companies
that are out there into one wallet
that will manage all of those subscriptions
so that customers kind of just go to one single area
to pay for whatever charging session they are
at whatever kind of charger they're using.
I wanted to kind of end off the conversation
talking about affordability.
Affordability is a big issue
when it comes to all vehicles,
but particularly electric vehicles.
So with all the improvements we're gonna see in Soltera,
one would assume there would be a premium attached
to that though, what's the strategy
from a potential positioning of from a price standpoint
moving forward when these vehicles start to get delivered?
Yeah, you said it's it's the strategy
is gonna be offering really good value to the shoppers.
So like we've talked about,
there's an array of improvements
and enhancements to the new vehicle.
So it's almost like an entirely new vehicle.
There's been so much updated with it.
With all those improvements,
we also needed to ensure
that the value would be there for customers.
While we can't discuss the pricing quite yet,
what we can say is that despite all the enhancements,
the pricing will not increase from the current level.
So we can expect that customers will be able
to take advantage of that value
and still have the vehicle at a really competitive price
to be positioned to, again,
try and get some of those conquest customers
that we talked about as well as appealing
to our loyal customers.
I'd like to thank Brad for his time
and Tim for conducting the interview.
If you'd like to be a guest,
have a suggestion or simply wanna comment,
email at glasen at autonews.com.
And remember you can listen to all our previous podcasts
on Spotify, iTunes, Google Play,
or on our website, automotivenews.ca.
Just scroll to the podcast hub
in the middle of the homepage.
And don't forget,
you can follow Automotive News Canada on X
where we're at Auto News Canada.
And you can find me there too under at glasen, A-N-C.
Finally, you can find us on LinkedIn.
Just search Automotive News Canada.
That does it for this episode
of the Automotive News Canada podcast.
We hope you'll join us next time.
So long, everybody.
About this episode
Brad Evans, Subaru Canada's car line manager, shares insights on the brand's electrification strategy and new product offerings in a conversation with Tim Domopoulos. They discuss the evolution of Subaru's electric lineup, including the Salterra, highlighting its competitive features such as improved performance, charging capabilities, and user-friendly technology. The episode also touches on the current state of Canadian vehicle sales and the impact of economic factors on the automotive market, making it a timely discussion for industry watchers.
August sales slump; EV maintenance money; Honda Prelude returns. Plus, Subaru Canada Car Line Manager Brad Evans talks about the automaker’s EV strategy, new product, Canadian sales and more.