Subaru's 'new course' soon to be outlined
Back in June of last year, Ikuo Mori took the helm as Fuji Heavy Industries' CEO. His task: end Subaru's five-year long sales slump. Subaru's retail efforts have not lived up the automaker's expectations set in 2002, with a failed attempt at moving the brand up market and the slow sales of its visually challenged B9 Tribeca SUV (does the backend remind anyone else of a Morlock?) doing little to improve the brand's bottom line.
Little has been revealed about Mori's turnaround efforts, but in Subaru's annual report, he hinted that the automaker's focus on engineering over consumer appeal might be one of the first things to be nixed. A more focused effort on the company's core business – automobiles – will be at the forefront, with a reduction in some of FHI's outlying endeavors, including its work in the aerospace industry.
Whether or not the future of Subaru lays in better brand management, with a special focus on its devotees, remains to be seen. But outside of several niche automakers, Subaru has a number of dedicated buyers in the U.S. and if Subaru wants to expand its market share, they'll have to make an attempt to encapsulate that enthusiasm to attract more people into their showrooms.
[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Rick Lyon 10:21AM (2/26/2007)
Is that something they teach in business school? When sales are lagging you raise your prices? That just seems counter-intuitive. If you can't sell your product at $5, why would it sell at $10? Seems, Subaru needs to REDUCE their prices as their $30k SUV just seems $10k too much.
Maybe this guy and Chrysler's CEO are best friends?
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Jim in Tampa 10:25AM (2/26/2007)
Move Subaru upmarket? Subaru's are into the Volvo range in terms of price and they just don't have the snob appeal of a Volvo.
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Tarditi 10:42AM (2/26/2007)
I just got my first Subaru after having a host of different models. Quite impressed with the car. They suffer from a lack of confidence in the dealer support network, though.
They really do need to capture the brand enthusiasm - the best thing for the Impreza line, is the rivalry with the Mitsubishi Lancer... The problem is that the Lancer is about to launch ahead with better quality interior, more HP, and very sleek styling.
Perhaps helping Rally racing become a more of a household term in the US would help - the sport is truly dominated by EVO and STI models.
A key problem with sucessfully increasing sales when your largest support comes from existing owner base is that any departure from form to tap into new markets ir broaden appeal usually is at the expense of what endears the product to the fan base in the first place. Jeep and Porsche have many, many cuts and bruises to testify to that, for instance.
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Hamud 10:30AM (2/26/2007)
From the rear it looks like a Ford S-Max...
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Howard Kerr 10:43AM (2/26/2007)
EVERY car maker seems to think this is THE route to sales success:
"...Why don't we just go up-market?"
Like it's something you can wake up in the morning and decide to do. Like shopping for your next suit of clothes at JC Penney instead of Wal-Mart will INSURE that you SUDDENLY catapult into the CEO job.
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Richard 10:44AM (2/26/2007)
Whatever they do, I hope that they keep the engineering...and the driving dynamics.
Those of us who know, continue to buy them because they drive great, are super-solid, kick 3series and A4 asses all day and are far more dependable.
In fact, they are where Volvo were in the 70's. Really well built and good value. Come to think of it, BMW was there once as well.
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Evotec 10:49AM (2/26/2007)
The ugly face of the Impreza and Tribeca has to go!
The 99 Impreza was the best looking Subaru ever.
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Sam 10:52AM (2/26/2007)
As a Subaru owner, I think the 3rd generation Legacy & Outback are some of the best styled, nicest (for $21-23k base price) midsize cars you can find. Both the Accord and Camry got too bloated for morbidly obese Americans. Four big guys will fit fine in an Outback, but Honda & Toyota feel the need to bloat their cars out to fit a really tubby person in the rear center seat...at least that's the way it seems!
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Tim UF 10:58AM (2/26/2007)
If they could get more people to sit inside the tribeca, theyd get more sales. The interior design of it is exceptional! It does need a nose job though. I wonder what being nder the toyota umbrella will bring to subaru. Hopefully they manage to keep their distinct brand of automotive engineering (symmetrical AWD, Boxer engines, great driving dynamics), and manage to keep the wagons in their lineup.
BTW, i drive a 2007 WRX TR.
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Justin 11:04AM (2/26/2007)
I love Subaru.
No the back end doesn't look like a morlock.
Subaru plays a scrappy game and the price is at least worth its weight in quality. Volvos only have a snob factor to those who own them, they fail to realize their brand has gone downhill and their ability to be snobs with it.
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The other Bob 11:13AM (2/26/2007)
Seems to me the problem with Subaru is that they once had the awd market to themselves. Now everyone has a line of awd cars, or at least awd as an option. Unless they differentiate themselves in the marketplace, there is no reason for the company anymore in the eyes of consumers.
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Steve 11:16AM (2/26/2007)
Well they could start my actually making something visually attractive. They have a great AWD system and goo performance for the price, why not wrap it in a nice exterior?
No one buys a Subaru becasue it's pretty they buy it becasue it suits there needs. Why not suit their needs and their desires.
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dcwf 11:22AM (2/26/2007)
"the automaker's focus on engineering over consumer appeal might be one of the first things to be nixed"
Let me get this straight, Subaru is having a hard time selling its product so they are thinking about abandoning the main thing going for them?!? What's next? Nixing dependability?
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jj 11:28AM (2/26/2007)
With completely and wholly ugly TURDS of cars such as the b9 tribeca and new wrx, you NEED a new direction.
At least the legact gt still looks ok, but man, what were they thinking? That demented half-warped-meltdown wannabe alfa-romeo scnhozz just doesn't make a good grill, and then they put it on almost all of their vehicles. Uhg.
Oh and how long until the STI goes from two wings to three or four?
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Phil Burt 11:41AM (2/26/2007)
There is a general consensus that the core Subaru product is good. What always lets them down is styling. I suppose the Impreza has always had an underdog look appeal to it - but it can't trade on that forever. Now imagine a Subaru Impreza with Alfa 159 styling - that might speed up sales.
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MikeW 12:20PM (2/26/2007)
Subaru needs to explain that four wheel drive is far better than clutch pack part time systems-think Spyker 1902.
They only have one of those such systems, the base 2.5 & 4 speed auto. The WRX and 4 speed auto has a center differential, so that is the easiest fix.
The tribeca engine needs more displacement, Stroke to 88mm, 3.3 liters 270hp is good, a 6 speed automatic too.
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Gardiner Westbound 11:41AM (2/26/2007)
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The Subaru B9 Tribeca is an overpriced design and engineering failure; universally ridiculed exterior styling, underpowered, and uncomfortable seating. A revised model due in May addresses several of these issues. Let's see what happens with it.
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Wraith 11:47AM (2/26/2007)
Re #14: "That demented half-warped-meltdown wannabe alfa-romeo scnhozz just doesn't make a good grill, and then they put it on almost all of their vehicles. Uhg."
AFAIK, they only put it on 2 of their models: the Impreza and Tribeca. Legacy, Outback, Forester, and the now dead Baja never got the new grill.
I know it's a matter of taste. Personally, I kind of like it, at least on the Impreza. Though I don't care as much about how a car looks.
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Carletti 11:48AM (2/26/2007)
I agree with jj I think Subaru has a problem within the design department and this is a big reason why a $25,000 Forester does not compete well with the conventional Accord, for example. Subaru, in general, is trying to play the "different kind of car company" card and I think that it's not necessarily to their advantage. For AWD is fine, build your success around that, like you have. But your cars are weird Subaru. They are. I would say that painting the portrait of an automobile that looks like a passenger car and selling it as a competitor to an SUV is a dire strategy. And, in addition, it's not like Subaru is a luxury make, it's still solidly within the middle-class range both within appearance and within brand recognition, respectively. So then, given this, focus on what sells for middle-class buyers: reasonable prices (especially for a Subaru for goodness sake), excellent reliability, and less quirky design. throw in standard AWD on all cars and you've got yourself a plan, in my estimation. But as for the B9 Tribeca, that thing is an over-expensive (and perhaps less-reliable) Sienna competitor, and many people got that message is my view on that.
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booboojeebies 12:03PM (2/26/2007)
We just traded our 04 A4 ultrasport for a legacy limited wagon. It is as comfy inside as the Audi, and its 10K less. If you want to call the legacy ugly, then what can you really say about the new Audi grille?
I had two A4s and I just couldn't justify the high price any more for essentially the same interior and features.
That said, the dealer networks are miles apart, Subaru needs to rethink its dealer strategy.
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