Under the hood, the Japan market entry will pair a 2.0-liter engine with the company’s e-boxer hybrid system, which mates a power boost electric motor to a continuously variable transmission. Japan is expected to get only the hybrid variant, dumping the current gasoline option.
Subaru didn’t detail powertrain offerings for other markets. In the U.S., the outgoing Crosstrek options are a 2.0-liter four-cylinder gasoline boxer engine, a 2.5-liter gasoline engine or a 2.0-liter plug-in hybrid setup.
U.S. sales of the Crosstrek have climbed 11 percent this year through August to 99,252, even as the brand’s overall sales fell 16 percent to 355,457 amid tight inventories and crimped supply.
Global sales of the Crosstrek declined 4.6 percent through June to 96,916 vehicles. By comparison, U.S. sales over that six-month period rose 9.1 percent to 70,050 vehicles.
