THE BREAKDOWN
- Subaru WRX sales increased 52.6 percent in April to 1,178 cars compared to the same month last year.
- The WRX starts $5,230 cheaper for 2026.
- WRX sales are still down 16.4 percent year-to-date compared with 2025.
Grab your vape pen and four-wheel drift into your local 7-Eleven parking lot: The Subaru WRX is back, baby. Subaru sold 1,178 WRXs in April, a major 52.6 percent increase over the same month last year.
This increase comes after Subaru announced in January that it was bringing back the WRX’s base trim, which starts at $33,690, helping trim prices across the board. The entry-level 2026 WRX undercuts the formerly cheapest 2025 WRX Premium by $5,230, as we reported in January.
Although Subaru doesn’t break out the WRX’s sales results by trim, it’s clear the revised pricing strategy has brought enthusiasts off the sidelines and into Subaru dealerships, at least in April. Year-to-date WRX sales are still down 16.4 percent, with Subaru moving 4,680 units compared to 5,599 by this time last year. But with the updated models now arriving, April’s results are a good sign for what’s to come.
The WRX needs to have a better year than it did in 2025. Last year, sales fell some 41.2 percent to a total of just 10,930 cars. The company revealed last July that it had limited WRX production to focus capacity at its Gunma, Japan, plant on the profitable Forester model. With Forester production now expanded to the automaker’s Lafayette, Indiana, plant, that issue has been resolved.
Elsewhere in Subaru’s lineup, the Crosstrek had its best April ever, with 15,667 of the compact crossovers sold, a 4.9 percent increase from the same month last year. April was also the Pleiades brand’s best month ever for electric vehicle sales, with the Trailseeker and Uncharted joining the Solterra in its lineup of Toyota-based EVs.
Subaru’s WRX is still one of the most affordable—and only—ways to get into a four-door sedan with three pedals and a manual transmission in 2026. It’s also Subaru’s only sedan, after it discontinued the Legacy for 2026. Let’s hope it can grow its sales momentum and keep the flame alive.
Motor1's Take: Rising WRX sales in April are proof that enthusiasts want affordable sporty cars. With all-wheel drive and a starting price in the low $30,000s, it represents a great value in today's market. It’s great to see buyers respond to Subaru cutting the price of its iconic sport sedan, and we hope it sparks discussions around other performance models. New STI, anyone?
