Fuji Heavy Industries now sees itself lifting US auto sales to 350,000 units in fiscal 2013, two years sooner than originally planned, president Yasuyuki Yoshinaga said.
Last year, the firm behind the Subaru brand had targeted fiscal 2015 for sales to reach that figure, a roughly 30% rise from fiscal 2010 levels, the Nikkei reported.
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Stronger-than-expected sales of the Impreza will likely help raise Fuji Heavy’s US sales to a record 330,000 units in fiscal 2012. Sales are also expected to get a boost from the planned American launch of the redesigned Subaru Forester sport utility vehicle.
“Our products are highly regarded (by US drivers) for safety features and fuel economy,” Yoshinaga said.
Fuji Heavy is also thinking about increasing North American output capacity in fiscal 2015 or later.
“We hope to make a decision (on output expansion) by the end of this year,” the president said, according to Nikkei.
On the Senkak Islands dispute and sales in China, Yoshinaga said that “we will still target sales of 100,000 units in fiscal 2015.”
He added Fuji Heavy is still seeking to set up a Chinese production facility under a joint venture with a local automaker.
