Subaru is on a sales tear, with numbers up 21 percent through the end of November compared to last year. It's been investing in its Indiana factory, and
having ended its contract to build the
Toyota Camry there, the 400,000-unit capacity was once seen as more than
Subaru needs. At some point Subaru had plans to build the
XV Crosstrek here in the US, but
Reuters reports that the company has changed its mind and will build the little
crossover Scooby in
Japan, in the same Gunma Prefecture factory where the
Impreza,
BRZ and
Levorg are built.
The report cites " the relatively high sales price," the weakening yen versus the dollar and capacity constraints at the Indiana facility. For a planned production run of 65,000 Crosstrek units annually, the new math – especially the yen valuation, which has declined against the dollar to a rate not seen since 2007 – makes Japanese production a viable option.
Subaru isn't the only manufacturer taking its toys back home, either: the Reuters report says Toyota is considering shifting some Camry production back to Nippon, while Nissan plans to do the same with the Rogue. Our guess is that if Subaru sales continue the trend they've been on for years, the assembly decision will give them more local flexibility here for addressing it.
The report cites " the relatively high sales price," the weakening yen versus the dollar and capacity constraints at the Indiana facility. For a planned production run of 65,000 Crosstrek units annually, the new math – especially the yen valuation, which has declined against the dollar to a rate not seen since 2007 – makes Japanese production a viable option.
Subaru isn't the only manufacturer taking its toys back home, either: the Reuters report says Toyota is considering shifting some Camry production back to Nippon, while Nissan plans to do the same with the Rogue. Our guess is that if Subaru sales continue the trend they've been on for years, the assembly decision will give them more local flexibility here for addressing it.