Japan's Subaru ranks among those manufacturers that have built their name and place in the market by producing very specific cars that, although not produced in large volumes, have many loyal customers and even more fans. However, this could change in the coming years, as management is considering the brand's entry into the mainstream .
While many automakers are struggling financially, Subaru has seen its stock rise fivefold since the start of 2012. The operating margin is an almost unprecedented 12.7% in the auto industry, and profit tripled to a record $504 million in the last quarter. In addition, by 2016, the brand plans to exceed the threshold of one million vehicles sold per year .
In this excellent situation, Subaru is faced with an important decision. One option is to continue with the current style that got the brand to where it is at the moment, while the other option is to try to grow further and enter the mainstream .
The president of Fuji Heavy Industries , the automaker's parent company, Yasuyuki Yoshinaga , commented on the situation to the press: "We stand at an important turning point for Subaru ." Our brand shouldn't just be about sales volume. We should make the kind of cars that only Subaru can do, which are the ones that are a little more expensive and more profitable than the competition's cars.”
Subsequently, Yoshinaga continued, “Some people in our company may want to start making more mass products or cheaper cars, but is this really the right direction for Subaru ? We are not a manufacturer that could grow to the size of Toyota . And even if we could, reaching that size would mean we'd stop being Subaru ."
Nothing has been definitively decided yet, and Fuji Heavy Industries only started discussing the matter this month. So we will have to wait for the final decision, but our editors unanimously agreed that Subaru should remain a smaller manufacturer of specific cars with sophisticated all-wheel drive and horizontal boxer engines. What is your opinion?
Source: Bloomberg News via CarScoops
