Reports say Subaru will sell only electric cars in Europe as combustion models end by 2028

Subaru is reported to be winding down combustion-car sales in Europe so that, from 2028, the brand's new-car lineup there is electric. The confirmation these reports rely on is auto motor und sport's account that Subaru Germany told the magazine so. Nikkei Asia says Subaru will exit gasoline sales in Europe and go EV-only as early as 2028. This is not a Subaru Europe press release announcing an EV-only range. The company's last Europe release on the electric lineup, from July 2025, still presented the electric models as additions beside the boxer cars.

What auto motor und sport says Subaru Germany confirmed

The magazine's story, published on 16 October 2026, says Subaru will end new-car sales of all combustion models in Europe by the end of 2027 at the latest. It says Subaru Germany has officially confirmed that decision in response to an inquiry from auto motor und sport. It says the manufacturer gives the reasons as the European Union's restrictive CO2 fleet limits and the required assistance and safety systems, which it says make homologation and sales harder for smaller manufacturers in particular.

The phase-out, as the magazine describes it, starts with the current Outback, with a 169 hp 2.5-litre naturally aspirated boxer, which it says is already a run-out model and will leave the European range later this year. During 2027, it says, the Impreza, Crosstrek, and Forester follow. It says those three use a mild-hybrid 2.0-litre boxer with 136 hp. It says there are no concrete plans or announcements for full-hybrid versions in Europe. It notes that in the United States the Crosstrek and Forester are offered with a 2.5-litre full-hybrid boxer of 197 hp.

From 2028 at the latest, the magazine says, European Subaru showrooms will have only three fully electric lines: the Solterra crossover, the E-Outback, and the Uncharted. It says all three are based on platforms related to the Toyota bZ4X, bZ4X Touring, and C-HR+.

Electrek, on 20 October, reports the same confirmation to auto motor und sport and the same three electric models from 2028. It says the decision applies to Europe, that the US still sells hybrid Crosstrek and Forester models, and that the US name for the E-Outback is Trailseeker.

heise online, also on 20 October, says Subaru plans to stop selling new combustion cars in Europe by the end of 2027 at the latest, and that Subaru Germany confirmed this in response to an inquiry, according to a media report. It identifies that report as auto motor und sport's of 16 October. heise says a written statement from the importer has yet to be made publicly available. It says the Outback, with a 2.5-litre boxer of 124 kW, is the first to go later this year, and that the Impreza, Crosstrek, and Forester, with a 2.0-litre mild-hybrid boxer of 100 kW, are expected to follow during 2027. Those kilowatt figures are heise's. The magazine's horsepower figures are above. This desk is not converting one into the other.

What Nikkei showed, and where the story stopped

Nikkei Asia's story by Kantaro Fushiki, timestamped 26 October 2026 at 16:35 JST, is behind a subscription wall after the opening. The text that loaded says Subaru will exit gasoline-powered car sales in Europe and go EV-only as early as 2028, and that Nikkei has learned this. It says Subaru would be the first Japanese automaker to make such a move in a specific region. That "first" is Nikkei's characterization in the visible paragraph. A photo caption says that in 2027 Subaru will wind down sales of gasoline-powered cars in Europe as existing stocks run dry, and it identifies the Trailseeker as one of Subaru's EVs. This desk is not using any claim that sits behind the wall.

The July 2025 release still said "alongside"

Subaru Europe's media release of 18 July 2025, from Zaventem, announced three battery-electric models for Europe: the Solterra, the Uncharted, and the E-Outback. It said all three were being introduced alongside the current combustion boxer models, as zero-tailpipe-emission alternatives, on the e-Subaru Global Platform. heise cites that release for the same point: the three EVs were described as launching beside the boxer models then on sale.

The release's own highlights include a Solterra at 252 kW with a 73.1 kWh battery and range described as past 500 km, and an E-Outback at 280 kW with a 74.7 kWh battery and range past 450 km, marked as an estimate. Uncharted versions in the release include all-wheel drive at 252 kW and a front-wheel-drive estimate of 585 km. heise later prints 526 km WLTP for the E-Outback and up to 592 km for a front-wheel-drive Uncharted. Those are heise's figures, not the July release's. This story does not choose between them.

heise also says Subaru Europe chief David Dello Stritto told Autocar, "We have no choice. We have to move as quickly as possible from what we have today to an all-battery-electric lineup in Europe." That quotation is heise's account of what he told Autocar. This desk did not open the Autocar interview.

The EV-only plan, as published so far, rests on Subaru Germany's confirmation to auto motor und sport, as that magazine states it, and on later reports that cite that confirmation, plus Nikkei's visible account that it has learned of an EV-only Europe business as early as 2028. Subaru Europe's July 2025 release is still the company's public product note, and it still describes the electric cars as joining the combustion range. A separate Europe registrations story covers September battery-electric shares in several markets. It is not a Subaru sales table.