Subaru is doing really well here in the United States.The U.S. now accounts for 61% of Subaru’s entire global sales. Originally, the company had set a goal of selling 600,000 vehicles in North America by the end of the fiscal year in 2021. However, it's projected that Subaru will hit that sales quota by the end of this year. If this happens, that would mean eight straight years of growth, and seven consecutive years of record sales.
It's usually considered a good thing when a company continues to grow, and set sales records in the process; however, this has created a little bit of a problem for Subaru of America. An increasing demand means that there needs to be more of a supply. Subaru recently announced plans to expand production at the Indiana plant to help increase output and meet growing consumer demand.
Increasing the number of vehicles manufactured in the U.S. will certainly help meet the current demand, but that might not be enough if more and more people in the U.S. and Canada decide that they want to drive a Subaru.
Basically, Subaru has a couple of options: embrace big sales and continue to expand, or limit the number of vehicles that are sold. It would seem as though the company has opted for the latter.
According to Automotive News, Subaru of America will be setting an annual production cap at just over 1 million vehicles. The exact number is 1.03 million, but Subaru can meet 1.1 million with overtime production.
So why is Subaru deciding to stay small? Because the company wants to be true to its mission and keep Subaru cars special.
Subaru is setting a cap to stay true to company values. Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, the president of Fuji Heavy Industries, told Automotive News in an interview, "Many companies try to be bigger or sell more vehicles. If Subaru does the same thing, we will lose our characteristics."
