Subaru’s Australian importer promises decisive action amid sagging sales, eroding profits
Independent vehicle distributor Inchcape says Subaru is eroding its profit margins in Australia, and it plans to shake things up. In addition to Subaru, the UK-headquartered auto distributor also handles Chinese commercial vehicle brand Foton in Australia, though it announced in July 2026 it was dropping Peugeot and subsequently announced in October 2026 that it had mutually agreed with Deepal parent Changan to relinquish responsibility for the Chinese brand here. The distributor is still managing both Peugeot and Deepal in the meantime, with the French brand yet to land a new distributor and the Chinese brand transitioning to a factory-backed operation. While he didn’t provide specific profitability figures for Subaru, citing this as being commercially sensitive, Inchcape group CFO Adrian Lewis confirmed in a third-quarter earnings call that Peugeot and Deepal’s Australian distribution…