Subaru Australia gets an extra 140 BRZs

CUSTOMERS on the long online waiting list for Subaru’s in-demand BRZ coupe will get some relief after Subaru Australia secured additional factory allocation from Japan.

Subaru Australia announced today that it would receive an extra 140 BRZs above its existing allocation, spread over February and March production at the Fuji Heavy Industries plant.

As a result, customers due to receive cars from May 2013 can expect to see their waiting time – which had blown out in some cases to November – cut by up to two months.

The extra allocation will not affect buyers whose cars are due to arrive before May next year.

The additional 140 units will be added to Subaru’s stock for 2013, although it is unclear exactly how many BRZs the company’s local arm will deliver next year.

Subaru Australia national corporate affairs manager Dave Rowley told GoAuto today that the company had a rolling order base for 2013 – meaning no fixed allocation is in place – but the company would put its hand up for as many BRZs as possible.

The BRZ coupe – the twin of Toyota’s even more popular 86 – has been a sell-out success since going on-sale in July this year, with Subaru Australia’s small allocation of 201 units to the end of December selling out in just three hours.

To the end of October, Subaru Australia had delivered 188 vehicles.

As reported, Subaru Australia took an innovative approach to dealing with the huge demand and tiny supply at the time by selling the majority of cars online.

The other examples were either sold to VIP customers who placed large down-payments (27 units) or committed to dealers as demonstrators (64 units).

At the time the company called the web experiment a success, despite hiccups with the internet ordering system that was overwhelmed by hits after going live.

The 147kW/205Nm BRZ rear-drive sports coupe retails for $37,150 – more than the equivalent Toyota 86 GTS ($35,490). However, the BRZ’s price is drive-away, unlike the 86, and Subaru also offers three years of free servicing to sweeten the deal.

BRZ customers can check their vehicle’s progress online to view estimated time of arrival, and Subaru is contacting all customers awaiting a BRZ to advise them of the latest developments.