Is The Subaru You Drive Made In America?
Is that Subaru vehicle you drive made in America or is it manufactured in Japan? Subaru has two plants, one in Gunma, Japan and one in Lafayette, Indiana. Subaru’s plant in the U.S., Subaru Indiana Automotive (SIA), hit a big milestone and just produced its 4 millionth Subaru vehicle, an Ice Silver 2019 Outback SUV. The SUV rolled off the assembly line on Monday, April, 22.
SIA currently makes the all-new Ascent family hauler, Impreza sedan and 5-Door compact, Legacy sedan and 2020 Outback SUV models for North America. If you drive a Subaru Crosstrek, Forester, WRX, WRX STI, or BRZ they are made at the plant in Gunma, Japan.
SIA makes 35% of Subaru's total global output
Subaru of America is the Japanese automaker’s largest market by far selling 671,000 vehicles of its total 1.06 million worldwide. Since beginning production in 1989, the U.S. plant has increased its output from 67,000 to approximately 370,000 Subaru vehicles annually. SIA makes about 35 percent of the total number of vehicles the Japanese automaker sells globally.
“This is an incredible milestone for our associates and our company,” said Scott Brand, senior vice president at SIA. “We’ve come a long way since building our first Subaru vehicle more than 30 years ago.” It was a first-generation 1988 Subaru Legacy sedan that was the first Subaru to roll off the assembly line in America.
It was also an Outback that rolled off the assembly line as the 3 millionth Subaru built at the plant in Lafayette, Indiana in July 2017. The 3 millionth Subaru built at the U.S. plant was a Lapis Blue Pearl 2017 Subaru Outback.
Ascent family hauler comes online
SIA invested $140.2 million in new machinery and equipment in addition to the $400 million expansion that was finished in 2017. SIA who is owned by parent company Subaru Corporation made the improvements to increase its production capacity by nearly 100,000 units annually to meet the growing demand for Subaru vehicles in North America. Subaru expects to build around 65,000 Ascent 3-Row vehicles in the first year of production.
Next online will be the all-new 2020 Subaru Legacy and next-generation 2020 Subaru Outback that are both expected to begin production at the end of July.
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Photo credit: Subaru USA