In early 2007 Subaru announced it is building a 2.2-liter flat-four turbodiesel engine, which will go on sale in Europe this year in Impreza and Forester models, but is not ready for the US. During the announcement of the engine at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show, Subaru indicated they had no plans to introduce the diesel to the US market.  

Fuji Heavy Industries president Ikuo Mori says the U.S. is the most important market worldwide, and executive vice president of Subaru of America Tom Doll says “Forester owners enjoy long road trips”, begging the question of when the engine will be available in the US for the Forester and Impreza.

“We are preparing to launch the engine when the market is ready,” says Mori, “We have no comment on when that would be. The European market is ready now; I’m not sure when the US market will be.”

However, Mori says that regardless of the market condition, the engine will be introduced to the U.S. by midyear in 2010.

Mori says he thinks it will be very difficult for the U.S. to achieve the 15 percent diesel passenger car sales penetration by 2015, a figure that supplier Bosch as well as Mercedes-Benz and Audi have agreed with. Still, he added that Subaru will introduce the engine in the U.S. well before the US market reaches that level of diesel sales.

JANUARY 2008