► Subaru’s UK MD talks to CAR
► A former JLR and McLaren executive
► Loyalty, stealth wealth, new EVs and more
Subaru is the built tough brand that’s kept itself to itself in the UK for some time. But it is going through the same set of challenges – electrification, mandates, rising costs and changing buying habits – as the rest of the industry. Lorraine Bishton, the brand’s UK managing director, is at the helm of a brand that’s got plenty of history and a shifting future.
Bishton has had an expansive career so far. After starting in Ford’s credit department, her move to Jaguar Land Rover included project leading the second-generation Range Rover Sport, developing the Range Rover Sport SVR and helping set up the Special Vehicle division.
After that, Bishton was approached by McLaren to work in its own Special Operations team as sales and marketing director. While in that role, she was the one who introduced then-new boss (and former Ferrari tech lead) Michael Leiters to the Solus GT and worked there while the W1 was being developed.
As we talk, having just driven the latest generation of Forester, Bishton has been Managing Director of Subaru UK for a year. So, why leave McLaren for Subaru? ‘That’s always a question I get asked! I suppose, given my age, I remember Subaru in the whole Colin McRae era – loved World Rally and touring cars when I was a kid, so it’s a brand I’ve admired for a long time. It’s a brand with amazing heritage.
‘I think everyone’s clear on what Subaru of yesteryear was,’ says Bishton. ‘In recent years, the brand has been in a position where every car that came into the country went straight to a customer, so there was no need to market its cars. But what might have happened in that period is that people aren’t quite so clear on what the brand is today. In other markets like Sweden, we’re known for all-wheel drive capability and the brand is very strong there – people know what it stands for.
‘I’m very keen to reintroduce Subaru to the British public, particularly as we go on that journey of electrification. We’ve got a very loyal customer base, but being able to introduce that to a wider audience and bring new people into the brand is really exciting.’
Subaru customers are fiercely loyal and, as it turns out, rather wealthy. Bishton points out that most Subaru buyers get their car with cash; ‘there’s a stealth wealth element about the brand, where you have people that just want to go into their local town and fly under the radar. We’re also a more rurally-focused brand – you wouldn’t see us advertise in Leicester Square, but you’re more likely to see us supporting local county shows.’ Bishton notes that a large portion of the brand’s dealers are strategically located to better serve rural areas.
For now, the brand sells just four models. The old-school three – made up of the Forester, Outback and Crosstrek (formerly XV) – sit beside the Solterra, Subaru’s first EV built in partnership with Toyota. Two more EVs are to come for Europe and the UK which will allow Subaru to navigate the UK’s ZEV mandate much clearer, but they won’t replace any of the existing line-up. ‘They’ll be SUVs,’ says Bishton, ‘but I don’t see them in direct competition with our existing cars. They’ll broaden the appeal of the brand.’
But Bishton is keen to point out that introducing these models isn’t about Subaru hitting the big leagues in Europe and the UK. ‘We do plan to grow, but we don’t plan to be mainstream – that’s not what we’re about,’ she says. ‘As we go into next year, we’ll have a six-car lineup in the showroom, which is naturally going to bring more people in. In the case of the Solterra joining, our average customer age is 63, but with Solterra it’s 42.’ Bishton points to these new models being key to ‘introducing Subaru to a new generation of fans.’
What has introduced Subaru to people in the past is its performance names: WRX and STi. But the names are practically dead in Europe and the UK, and arguably on life support in Japan. ‘When you look at the boxer engine and European emissions legislation, those sorts of products just aren’t achievable here,’ says Bishton. ‘But as we move into the era of electrification, that opens up opportunities for the brand.’
‘Subaru’s a brand that will celebrate its history and heritage, and there’s more we can do about that and we definitely want to take that fan base with us,’ says Bishton. ‘But I think we’re looking to the future with products that are innovative, but still have all the appeal that people know and love from Subaru today.’