Subaru will stop selling combustion-engine cars in Europe by the end of 2027, leaving three electric models in showrooms from 2028. Subaru Germany confirmed the plan to the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, and Electrek reported it on Oct. 20. The change covers Europe only, and it ends a run of boxer-engine cars that has defined the brand on the continent.
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The model-by-model exit schedule
The Auto Motor und Sport report, as summarized in Electrek’s Oct. 20 article by Peter Johnson, lays the phase-out out in two steps. The Outback wagon is discontinued at the end of 2026. In 2027 the three remaining boxer-powered models follow: the Impreza, the Crosstrek and the Forester, all of which use a mild-hybrid 2.0-liter boxer engine in Europe. After that, no combustion-engine Subaru remains for sale in Europe. The sequence means the brand’s European showrooms will carry a shrinking set of boxer models through 2027, then switch entirely to electric cars with the new year, a compressed timeline of roughly fourteen months from the date of Electrek’s report.
The word “gas” in the plan covers mild hybrids, because the Impreza, Crosstrek and Forester sold in Europe pair their boxer with a mild-hybrid system and still burn fuel. Anyone shopping for a Subaru in Europe after the end of 2027 will therefore find only battery-electric cars. Subaru has not ruled out full-hybrid vehicles for Europe later, but Johnson says there are no official plans for any.
Johnson describes the decision as not entirely voluntary. Subaru Germany attributes it to European Union emissions rules and to driver-assistance regulations. Electrek’s wording is that the shift is not entirely voluntary, and Subaru Germany’s own explanation points to compliance as the driver rather than to a collapse in demand for its boxer cars.
The three electric Subarus left from 2028
From 2028 Subaru will sell the Solterra, the E-Outback and the Uncharted in Europe, all electric, all developed with Toyota. Electrek says they are twins of the Toyota bZ4X, the bZ4X Touring and the C-HR+. The lineup was set out earlier, when Automobile Propre reported on the three models Subaru unveiled for Europe in July 2025: a refreshed Solterra with 338 horsepower, an E-Outback estate with two motors and 375 horsepower, and the Uncharted compact SUV in three variants.
The numbers behind that trio are modest. Automobile Propre noted that the Solterra, Subaru’s only EV in France at the time, sold just 22 units in the first half of 2025. The E-Outback, built on the same platform as the Solterra, carries a 74.7 kWh battery and a range above 450 kilometers, while the Uncharted comes with 57.7 kWh or 77 kWh batteries and ranges of about 445 to 585 kilometers depending on the version.
Subaru sells these cars under different names in the United States. The E-Outback is the Trailseeker there, and Electrek’s Aug. 4 report says Subaru sold 1,077 Trailseekers in July 2026, against 359 Uncharted and 138 Solterra, with the Trailseeker outselling its siblings for two months running.
In-house EV technology and the 2029 horizon
The European lineup of Toyota-built twins is not the end of the engineering story. Subaru unveiled its first dedicated EV platform, with new batteries, electric motors and an integrated control unit that supports over-the-air updates, as Electrek reported in a separate Oct. 19 article. A camouflaged Outback test vehicle with all-wheel drive delivers a combined 509 horsepower and, per Subaru, accelerates from 0 to 62 miles per hour in under four seconds. The design is not final.
The hardware is specific. Johnson reports that Subaru engineers put the new motors at about 30 percent more efficient than the industry average, and that the battery pack uses 4,000 cylindrical cells, is 24 percent lighter than the previous pack and targets an energy density 20 percent above the industry average. The e-axle was developed with Aisin Group, a Toyota supplier, and the cells come from Panasonic Energy. An in-house control unit will also integrate the EyeSight driver-assistance system, and Subaru is developing a custom AI chip with AMD for future updates.
Takatomo Watamori, the executive officer in charge of engineering, framed the effort as developing vehicles in-house with EV technologies of Subaru’s own. Executives said some of the technology would begin rolling out around 2029, with no specific launch date. Electrek reports Subaru aims to deliver 1.2 million vehicles in the first half of the 2030s, above its 2018 record of 1.1 million.
In the United States the picture differs. Subaru still sells the Crosstrek and Forester there with a 2.5-liter full-hybrid boxer, and a three-row electric SUV called the Getway, which Electrek describes as essentially a rebadged Toyota Highlander BEV, arrives next year. The European deadline therefore does not signal a global end to gasoline power at Subaru. The cutoff is a regional one, tied to the rules of one market, and Electrek’s report mentions no timetable for ending combustion engines anywhere else, so American buyers can still choose a hybrid boxer Crosstrek or Forester while European customers are limited to the three electric models.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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