- Statistically speaking, there’s a good chance that if you drive a Subaru, you’re also a dog owner.
- More than half of all Subaru owners in the wilderness are dog parents.
- The company also does a lot of charity work in the pet field.
In the early 2000s, Mitsubishi’s Lancer Evo and Subaru’s WRX STI took part in a fierce rivalry that forced fans to choose sides. On paper, the cars looked very similar: turbocharged four-cylinder engines, practical four-doors and all-wheel drive for grip. But in terms of personality, one was razor sharp and a bit ruthless, while the other was friendly and liked to tear through the sand. In short, the Evo was a cat and the WRX was a dog. Who is a good tough guy?
It turns out that Subaru as a brand is extremely popular among dog lovers these days: almost half of all Subie owners also have a dog in the family. With 643,591 sales last year, that’s a lot of carpet vacuuming. It’s best not to think about all the poop bags.
A 48 percent dog share across the board for Subaru shouldn’t be a huge surprise, considering all but three models are dog-friendly hatchbacks (and it’s not like the BRZ or Legacy sell in large quantities). Dog ownership fits in perfectly with the outdoorsy image that Subaru’s marketing has carefully constructed, with the brand firmly targeting people who own rugged shoes and at least one piece of flannel clothing.
Of course, outdoor enthusiasts often have dogs. All the good sticks are outside.
The evidence is even stronger for Subaru’s Wilderness range of vehicles, the Outback, Forester and Crosstrek. Here the percentage of buyers who also have a dog rises to 58 percent. It’s as if Subaru’s online configurator has you tick a box for the optional rubber floor mats and also a border collie.
And you can actually get a dog from Subaru. In fact, 1,835 people have already done so. Starting in 2018, Subaru, in partnership with local animal shelters, began bringing adoptable dogs to car shows across the country. It was completely genius. Who wants to find out about the latest infotainment update anywhere else when you can just go to the Subaru booth and hand out belly rubs to dogs?
At the corporate level, Subaru has donated more than $1 million to the shelters it partners with, as well as more than $70 million to other pet charities, and is the largest corporate donor to the ASPCA. If you’re a Subaru employee, there’s also a bring-your-dog-to-work day at headquarters. As you can imagine, absolutely no work gets done that day.
So the next time you see your four-legged cat floating around on the hardwood floor in the kitchen, that’s a furry Mitsubishi Evo. And if you just adopted a new puppy from the shelter and are printing tags for his collar, may we suggest the name WR Rex?
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