Not content with having overtaken Hyundai and Genesis in 2018, Subaru of America has a new goal: selling 700,000 vehicles this year.
If SoA hits its target, US deliveries will not only be at record levels for the twelfth year in succession, they will also represent close to two thirds of what Subaru Corporation has projected for the brand worldwide in 2019.
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The parent company has told the media that it envisages global deliveries rising by two per cent in calendar 2019, reaching 1,080,000 (2018: 1,063,000).
While production in Japan is projected to decrease by two per cent, the company says it “plans to achieve the sales growth projections by optimising vehicle distribution operations”.
The total number of vehicles to be manufactured in Subaru’s home market is expected to be 650,000, a forecast drop of 10 per cent. However, its overseas (mainly US) production should offset this if the target of a six per cent gain to 380,000 units is realised.
During 2018, Subaru delivered 680,135 cars and crossovers to US buyers. At the half way mark, the gap to Hyundai Motor America was some 5,000 vehicles but by year end, SoA had pulled ahead, the combined total for Hyundai and Genesis being 677,946. The brand’s slow, steady rise is relentless: in 2018, Hyundai became the 11th make to have been overtaken by Subaru in as many years.
Worldwide, 2019 will be another year of new model releases. The most important of these will be a fresh generation of the Outback as well as the Legacy sedan, while the Impreza is due for a facelift and several Kei models are also up for replacement.
Subaru Corporation has restated its existing goal of selling 1.2 million vehicles per year by the end of fiscal 2020-2021.
