Subaru Growth Plans Include New 7-Seater SUV, Plug-in Hybrid

Subaru is looking to increase its U.S. sales by 20 percent by 2020 and to get there the automaker will bring to market new technologies and new models.

The Japanese automaker has revealed plans to introduce a new vehicle platform and more efficient engines as it looks to build on its growth in North America. The company forecasts North American volume of 600,000 units by 2020, an increase from 478,000 units in the just-ended fiscal year. Subaru also expects to expand annual capacity at its Indiana plant to 400,000 units after 2017.

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For the past six years, Subaru has been the only brand to increase sales in the U.S. each year and has seen double-digit increases in each of the past 16 months. Through April this year, Subaru’s sales are up 22 percent while the rest of the U.S. automotive industry has only risen three percent.

In 2016, Subaru will introduce a new modularized platform called the Subaru Global Platform. It will support every model from the Impreza to the Outback. It will also debut a next-generation Impreza along with a new seven-seater SUV to replace the outgoing Tribeca. Also, expect a plug-in hybrid to arrive for the North American market in the future, which will be based on hybrid technology from Toyota.

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[Source: Automotive News]

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