Forester and WRX help Subaru get a fast start in 2013

Subaru has announced 27,663 vehicle sales in the U.S. for January 2013, which represents a 21 percent increase over January 2012. The 2013 Forester and 2013 Impreza WRX helped the Japanese automaker build on strong sales from 2012 where Subaru achieved four consecutive years of sales increases and exceeded 300,000 annual sales in 2012, a first in company history.

Forester and Impreza WRX sales for January 2013 increased 28.3 and 83.9 percent respectively, over January 2012, giving Subaru a nice bump at the start of 2013. The newly introduced XV Crosstrek small SUV crossover and BRZ two-door sport coupe also contributed to a good month. The two newly developed cars added 3,227 sales to the month’s total. Outback and Legacy models were recently named Top Safety Pick+ by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and also showed an increase in sales over last year.

Subaru vehicles are delivering value and safety

Subaru is experiencing an increase in sales across their entire lineup and it's creating growing pains for the Japanese automaker. “We are excited to see strong sales across our entire model line,” said Thomas J. Doll, executive vice president and COO, Subaru of America, Inc. America. “Car shoppers are looking for value, safety and performance. Our vehicles deliver on that promise and that is evident in our strong January sales,” said Bill Cyphers, senior vice president of sales, Subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru expanding Indiana plant

The increase in sales in the U.S. and around the globe, is a good problem to have, and Subaru will need to invest $230 million into their U.S. Indiana plant and increase production by 30 percent. Subaru will need to raise its production capacity by 30,000 vehicles in the next two years in order to keep up with the global demand.

Subaru sold nearly 330,000 in the U.S. last year, and had to ship half of those from Japan. The U.S. plant in Indiana is the only other major plant in the world for Subaru other than the Gunma Prefecture facility in Japan. Fuji Heavy Industries briefly considered building a new factory in Mexico, but chose the cheaper option of expanding the existing U.S. facility.

The 2014 Forester is poised for U.S. launch

The all new 2014 Subaru Forester is about to launch in the U.S. this spring and Subaru is counting on the newly redesigned crossover to add even more sales in 2013. Bill Cyphers says, “It is a positive start for the year and we expect strong demand for the all-new 2014 Forester when it arrives in showrooms this spring.” Sales of the new Forester have already been more than expected in Japan, and have exceed 8,000 in its first month and more than quadruple their monthly target. Orders for the all-new crossover have reached 8,149 units as of December 16 in just one month after its launch on November 13. This breaks the monthly sales target of 2,000 units by more than fourfold.

Buyers are attracted to the popular Subaru lineup because they are giving consumers what they want. Young, mobile car shoppers are looking for value, safety and performance. The new 2014 Forester, XV Crosstrek and BRZ are delivering all of those things and more.