Toyota Vs. Subaru Sales: One Brand Is Quietly Winning With The Same Cars

Toyota and Subaru sell four pairs of closely related cars. Toyota’s four shared models total 40,401 sales so far this year, according to Toyota’s latest sales report, more than double the 16,864 that Subaru’s sales report shows for its versions.

Subaru comes out ahead in only one pair, the bZ Woodland and Trailseeker, where its version costs more than $5,000 less.

The Scoreboard

January through September 2026.

The Biggest Gap Is In The Same EV

The bZ and Solterra are the oldest of the three electric pairs. Toyota has sold 24,944 bZs this year, up 103% from 12,264. Subaru has sold 5,635 Solterras, down 43.5% from 9,972.

The cheapest 2026 bZ is the XLE with front-wheel drive at $34,900. The Solterra comes only with all-wheel drive and starts at $38,495, so the bZ is $3,595 cheaper to get into. Add the second motor and AWD to the bZ, though, and it costs $39,900, which makes the Solterra the cheaper all-wheel-drive car by $1,405.

The One Pair Subaru Wins

The bZ Woodland and Trailseeker both come standard with dual motors and AWD. The 2026 Trailseeker starts at $39,995, while the 2026 bZ Woodland starts at $45,300, a gap of $5,305. Subaru has sold 5,610 Trailseekers this year against 2,600 bZ Woodlands.

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The price gap is the same as it was in January, and Subaru still holds the sales lead.

Related: Toyota Is Charging $5,000 More Than Subaru for the Same EV

The C-HR And GR86 Go Toyota’s Way

The 2026 C-HR is sold only with dual motors and AWD, starting at $37,000. The Uncharted starts lower, at $34,995 for the Premium FWD, but its cheapest AWD version, the Sport, costs $39,795. Toyota has sold 7,215 C-HRs to Subaru’s 3,385 Uncharteds.

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The 2026 GR86 starts at $31,400 with a manual transmission. The BRZ is now offered only in Limited and tS form, starting at $35,860, so the Toyota is $4,460 cheaper. Both are selling less this year. GR86 sales are down 30.4% and BRZ sales are down 2.2%, but the Toyota still outsells the Subaru by about two and a half to one.

Prices before destination: $1,595 for Toyota’s EVs, $1,295 for the GR86, $1,450 for Subaru’s EVs and $1,195 for the BRZ.

Verdict: Which Twin To Buy

Price explains some of this, but not all of it. In the two pairs where one twin is cheaper outright, that twin sells more: the GR86 over the BRZ, and the Trailseeker over the bZ Woodland.

The other two pairs are less clear-cut. The bZ is the cheapest way into any of these EVs at $34,900, with the Uncharted Premium FWD just $95 behind at $34,995. But with all-wheel drive, the Solterra undercuts the bZ by $1,405. The C-HR, which only comes with AWD, is $2,795 cheaper than the Uncharted Sport, the cheapest Uncharted with AWD. Toyota outsells Subaru in both pairs anyway, so a lower sticker price on one trim doesn’t settle it.

Price is clearly not the whole story. Neither company explains the gap in its sales report, but dealer footprint, lease and incentive offers, and inventory could all play a part, and the Solterra’s 43.5% drop deserves an answer none of the numbers here supply.

If you’re shopping:

• bZ vs. Solterra: The bZ if you want front-wheel drive, the Solterra if you want AWD.
• C-HR vs. Uncharted: The C-HR for AWD, the Uncharted if you’d rather have FWD and save a little.
• GR86 vs. BRZ: The GR86, which costs $4,460 less.
• bZ Woodland vs. Trailseeker: The Trailseeker, which costs $5,305 less.