Subaru's Trailseeker EV – a twin to the Australia-bound Toyota bZ4X Touring – will be called E-Outback in Europe and the UK, following news the new-generation petrol-powered model will not be sold there.
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The Subaru Outback name will be applied to an electric car for the first time in its 30-year history, with the company confirming it will be rebadging one of its three battery-powered vehicles.
Due on sale in 2026, the Subaru E-Outback will be the name in Europe and the UK for the wagon-style Trailseeker SUV unveiled in the US in April, sharing its badge with the petrol-powered model sold since 1995.
The Trailseeker will be sold in Europe alongside its Toyota bZ4X Touring twin, which also wears a different name in the US: bZ Woodland.
It follows news that the seventh-generation 2026 Subaru Outback – also unveiled at the New York motor show in April – will not be sold in Europe and the UK due to its high CO2 emissions, according to an Auto Express report, with the current version to be the final petrol-powered model.
Subaru Australia is yet to announce the new electric car for local showrooms, nor what it would be called if it is confirmed for local sale.
Likewise, it has not officially confirmed the new-generation petrol-powered Outback, but it is likely for Australia as it is currently the brand's third-best-selling vehicle, and one of the nation's most-popular car-based large SUVs.
At launch, the new Outback will not be offered with hybrid assistance, unlike the latest versions of the Forester and Crosstrek, which borrow electrical components from Toyota to cut emissions and fuel use.
A Subaru Australia spokesperson told Drive the brand had no additional information to share on the large electric SUV, referring back to its media statement provided when the Trailseeker debuted in the US in April 2025.
"We look forward to sharing what these global debuts [Trailseeker, facelifted Solterra, and new-generation Outback] mean for the Australian market in due course. Stay tuned," the brand said at the time.
Subaru has also confirmed it will offer its Toyota C-HR+-based Uncharted and Toyota bZ4X-based facelifted Solterra electric SUVs in Europe and the UK, with a launch scheduled for 2026.
Like the Trailseeker, Subaru Australia has not shared any details about these new electric models – but it does currently offer the Solterra in pre-facelift form.
The Subaru Trailseeker's twin, the Toyota bZ4X Touring, has been confirmed to arrive in Australia in the first half of 2026, along with a facelift to the standard bZ4X SUV.
Compared to the Solterra and bZ4X they are based on, respectively, the Trailseeker and bZ4X Touring have a wagon-style design with an additional 140 millimetres of length behind the rear axle to deliver more cargo space.
The Trailseeker and bZ4X Touring are also taller than the models they are based on, and inherit the same cabin design with a 14-inch infotainment touchscreen, a digital instrument cluster, and dual wireless smartphone chargers.
Subaru claims its engineers led the development of the Trailseeker, not Toyota.
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Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
