Subaru BRZ wait times hit seven months, production ramping up

Subaru Australia says it will soon receive a boost in production for the new Subaru BRZ sports coupe – but high demand means wait times remain at approximately seven months.

The company says demand is growing for the first new BRZ in a decade – after the launch of its Toyota GR86 twin, which in multiple model grades is dearer and not as well equipped as the Subaru.

Last year the Subaru BRZ posted its second-best annual sales result on record.

The 2022 tally of 1165 deliveries of the new Subaru BRZ was the best result in nine years – and second only to the record of 1411 sales set in 2013.

"Seven months from time of production, so if you were buying a car now [in] February, you would [see] August, September delivery," Subaru Australia managing director Blair Read told Drive last week during a media briefing, when asked about the latest wait times for the BRZ coupe.

"We've increased production with the factory. We're getting more units for [the] given demand, and one of the things that has extended that wait time is [the addition of the] 10th Anniversary Edition, 150 units sold in seven days. So BRZ is going really well."

Mr Read added: "Subaru in Japan [has] been great. We've asked for more [cars]. We've gone back and said we want more and they've increased allocations, [but] as we get more [cars] and [wait times] come down, demand goes back up.

The new Subaru BRZ arrived in local showrooms in January 2022, eight months ahead of its Toyota GR86 twin.

Oddly, the Toyota GR86 is not as well equipped as the Subaru BRZ in entry-level form, lacking performance tyres and key safety technology – yet is similarly priced or more expensive in most model grades.

MORE: Toyota Australia defends GR86 pricing

The price difference is largest on manual-transmission GR86s, which are priced identically with the automatics, despite lacking key advanced safety technology including autonomous emergency braking. Subaru charges $3800 extra for the auto BRZ over the manual.

Some customers waiting in the queue for a Toyota GR86 last year took to social media to criticise the pricing, and claim plans to cancel their order in favour of a deposit on a Subaru.

When asked if Subaru Australia has seen an uptick in demand for the BRZ after Toyota GR86 pricing was announced in September 2022, Mr Read told Drive: "The way I'll answer this is say that we've seen increased interest.

"But I would also say we've seen increased demand in manual and automatic," Mr Read said, possibly in a reference to Toyota's decision to price-match the manual with the auto.

"We've seen general interest for BRZ and I think the 10th Anniversary Edition did a really good job of sharing the new generation, and extending BRZ's appeal," the Subaru executive said.

Since the GR86 went on sale in September 2022, 151 examples of the GR86 (and a few remaining previous-generation 86s) have been reported as sold, compared to 471 Subaru BRZs.

Prior to 2022, the Subaru BRZ has only outsold the Toyota 86 once over a calendar year – 2020, during the height of the global pandemic – when 407 BRZ were reported as sold to 387 Toyota 86s.

MORE: 2023 Subaru BRZ 10th Anniversary Edition price revealed

In the shared best sales year for the sports-car twins – 2013 – Subaru reported 1411 BRZs as sold, compared to 6706 Toyota 86s, a figure that has not been matched since.

Figures provided to Drive show manual-transmission models have accounted for "almost" 55 per cent of Subaru BRZ sales since it launched last January – compared to 46 per cent of sales of the Toyota GR86 (and its 86 predecessor) in calendar-year 2022.

"We'll just keep working as hard as we can to get as many [as possible to meet demand]. I don't know if there's an end point to that," Mr Read said.

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The Subaru BRZ leads what industry analysts predict to be a resurgence in sports-car sales, with the arrival of the second-generation Subaru and Toyota twins, as well as the new Nissan Z last year, and new Ford Mustang this year.

However, in Australia this is unlikely to begin in earnest until late this year or early next year, as the new Ford Mustang – which has historically accounted for two-thirds of 'affordable' sports-car sales – is not due in Australia until the second half of 2023.

Sports-car sales tend to be strong with the arrival of new models, but taper off as enthusiast or long-time buyers purchase the new cars and lose interest.