Autoblog

Subaru to raise US production from 130,000 units to 300,000 by 2016

Jonathon Ramsey — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 08:45:00 EST

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Subaru, Earnings/Financials

Ask Subaru about the difficult car market and it is likely to ask in response, "What difficult car market?" The little Japanese brand has its XV sitting on top of sales charts in (one small corner of) Europe, the BRZ is still allergic to sitting on dealer lots, the company has raised its financial forecast due to strong US sales and being in the top five of Consumer Reports' reliability ratings is the sprinkles on the cupcake. Just-Auto now reports that Subie is considering increasing US production by 30,000 units as soon as 2014, and another 100,000 units as soon as 2016. That's good news for Subaru's Lafayette, Indiana plant, which builds the Legacy, Outback and Tribeca.

The increase in production has yet to be approved, but the company's been talking about it for a few months now, especially after it wasn't able to build a factory in China. The Chinese government denied Subaru parent company Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) the right to build a factory in the People's Republic since Toyota, an FHI shareholder, already has two plants there. That ended up helping Subaru in the short term since it wasn't affected by the anti-Japanese sentiment over the issue of ownership of some islands in the South China Sea. In addition to the bumped-up production numbers, the president of FHI said he expects Subaru to sell more than 350,000 cars in the US next year; doing so would be an improvement of almost 30 percent over 2011.

Subaru to raise US production from 130,000 units to 300,000 by 2016 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Nov 2012 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Subaru mulling new plant in U.S.

Chris Paukert — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 18:05:00 EST

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Subaru

In mid-May, Subaru announced plans to expand its Lafayette, Indiana factory where it builds the Legacy, Outback and Tribeca, along with some Camry models for its partners at Toyota. The 52,000-square-foot expansion will bump capacity out to 180,000 units from 156K, and the $75M commitment will lead to around 100 new jobs. But that may just be the tip of the iceberg for Subaru's plans here in North America.

According to a new report from Japan's Kyodo News, Subaru parent Fuji Heavy Industries is investigating building a whole new plant in the States. The publication says that the plant could be online for the fiscal year beginning April 2015. The move would add capacity for the growing brand, which had sought to build a joint-venture plant in China, whose government has not yet signed off on the proceedings.

Subaru mulling new plant in U.S. originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Jun 2012 18:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Subaru to boost Indiana output by 40%

Zach Bowman — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:58:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Wagon, Plants/Manufacturing, Subaru, Toyota

2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT - Click above for high-res image gallery

Subaru is still seeing record sales for its newly redesigned Legacy and Outback, and as such, the company is looking to bump up production at the birthplace of our long-term Legacy 2.5GT by a hefty 40 percent. Automotive News reports that Fuji Heavy Industries wants to see a total of 140,000 vehicles roll out of the doors at its Indiana plant by the end of 2010 - a figure that could prove to be problematic considering that the Lafayette facility is presently only geared to turn out 100,000 cars per year.

That means Subaru will have to rummage up a way to crank out an extra 40,000 units, which may mean adding an additional production line. So far, Subaru hasn't said how it plans to meet the goals set forth by the higher-ups, but Automotive News seems to think the company may take over a line currently devoted to producing the Toyota Camry. Considering there are whispers that the increased output will require an investment of tens of millions of dollars, our money is on seeing another line at the plant.

Last year, Subaru sold a total of 216,652 vehicles. The company says that with the announced nudge in production, that figure should increase to 230,000 for 2010.

Gallery: Subaru Automotive Indiana

[Source: Automotive News]

Report: Subaru to boost Indiana output by 40% originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Long-Term Update: Touring our Subaru Legacy 2.5GT's birthplace

Chris Paukert — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 11:57:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Subaru, Long-Term Garage

Subaru Automotive Indiana - Click above for high-res gallery

With the genesis of our 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT long-termer just a few hundred miles down the road in Lafayette, Indiana, we thought it only appropriate to pick up our bouncing burgundy baby at the factory.

Many folks we know still express surprise that our Legacy is built in the States, but the folks at Fuji Heavy Industries have been building the model at Subaru Automotive Indiana (SIA) since its production lines fired up way back in September of 1989. Like the Legacy itself, the plant was a much different animal at that time. Back then, it was a joint production facility between Subaru and fellow Japanese automaker Isuzu, which assembled its pickup, the Rodeo, and eventually, the Axiom (remember those?) before exiting the venture in 2004.

The plant presently builds the Legacy sedan, its tippy-toes-with-mukluks cousin, the Outback and Tribeca, and the Toyota Camry, a car it's built since early 2007. In the past, it was also responsible for North American production of the Subaru Baja and the Honda Passport, the Rodeo's mechanical twin. If you're getting the impression that this plant has been a remarkably flexible manufacturing facility, you've got it right. Follow the jump to read more.

Updates on our year-long experience with this Subaru can be found by checking out its long-term page. Bookmark it, subscribe to our RSS feed and follow our tweets (#ablongterm) as we start on the long road ahead with our Legacy 2.5GT.

Gallery: Subaru Automotive Indiana

Continue reading Long-Term Update: Touring our Subaru Legacy 2.5GT's birthplace

Long-Term Update: Touring our Subaru Legacy 2.5GT's birthplace originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Apr 2010 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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