Subaru at ‘Major Turning Point,’ Could Expand Lineup

Coming off an extremely successful year where it saw its stock rise fivefold, Subaru believes it’s at a major turning point in its history and will be evaluating its long-term direction this month.

Profit and sales for Subaru are pointed to achieve record highs and its success has President Yasuyuki Yoshinaga worrying that Subaru is getting too big. Yoshinaga said that the automaker should continue “making cars only Subaru can make that are a little more expensive and more profitable than the competition.” Which means, continuing to specialize in all-wheel-drive vehicles and sports cars.

Internally, discussions are being raised on whether Subaru should expand its current lineup of models, develop cheaper vehicles for emerging markets, or stick to its core products. Expect the decision to be made slowly, especially considering its biggest shareholder is Toyota.

This year, Subaru sales increased 13 percent to 724,000 units in the year ended March and could rise to 752,000 this fiscal year. Subaru estimates deliveries to reach one million by the end of the decade, but the automaker could very well reach that mark ahead of schedule. Yoshinaga believes that production of one-million vehicles annually is an “appropriate level” for the automaker.

[Source: Automotive News]

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