Subaru has gotten to the point where excelling is status quo. Subaru is set for a 6th consecutive year of record sales. Every year for the past 6 years, Subaru has done better than they’ve ever done before in the U.S. market. The report from the end of last month had U.S. Subaru sales at 375,485 for the year so far, which is up by 20 percent from the previous year! With how things are going for Subaru at the moment, anything shy of record numbers is disappointing.
The folks at Subaru aren’t the only ones taking notice of the company’s recent success. Acura’s top global executive, Koichi Fukuo, has been impressed by Subaru’s skyrocketing sales and looks to take a page out of Subaru’s playbook.
There’s no doubt that Subaru’s All-Wheel Drive technology that comes standard on every Subaru vehicle, except for the rear-wheel drive BRZ, is a big selling point. Fukuo believes that AWD is the key to Subaru’s success, and is hoping to bring some of that success to Acura.
Acura sales have been slipping recently, perhaps, as Fukuo suggests, due to a lack of direction. There have been many ideas to help pump up Acura’s low numbers in the U.S., but the idea to make all Acura’s All-Wheel Drive seems to be Fukuo’s favorite, who said, “The key is awd. As a premium brand, we need something different from the competition.”
The trouble is that it seems as though Fukuo is attributing all of Subaru’s success to AWD capability. AWD is great and all, but that’s not the only reason why people buy Subarus. Subarus sustainability efforts, safety ratings, dependability, longevity, and practicality are all equally as important as All-Wheel drive. Subaru has been building a reputation for years, that people trust and stay loyal to.
We hope that Acura is able to up their sales, but they might have to think a little harder on the solution. Simply making a vehicle with All-Wheel drive isn’t enough to win over customers, and that’s what sets Subaru apart from other manufacturers.
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