The largest single shareholder and owner of 20% of the business is Toyota. As part of this agreement, Subaru has access to steel and other raw materials produced by the Toyota supplier network.
Subaru produces fewer vehicles than other of the major players because it only has two manufacturing facilities, compared to Toyota’s several facilities around the globe. Both the original plant and the second plant are in Lafayette, Indiana. The first facility is in Gunma, Japan.
In 2017, Subaru underwent a $400 million expansion of the factory after announcing plans to do so. When the Indiana factory manufactured its four millionth vehicle in 2019, it marked a significant accomplishment.
The headquarters of Subaru North American production is Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. (SIA), a division of Subaru Corporation. In addition to the $400 million expansion indicated above, SIA invested $140.2 million in new machinery and equipment and made upgrades to boost its production capacity by roughly 100,000 units yearly to meet the rising demand for Subaru automobiles in North America.
In This Article...
Are Toyota and Subaru the same?
The major automakers with present presences in the United States are listed below, along with the brands they sell.
BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce are all owned by BMW Group. Smart and Mercedes-Benz are owned by Daimler AG. Lincoln and Ford are owned by Ford Motor Co. Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, and Cadillac all belong to General Motors. Hummer is back as a GMC subsidiary brand. In order to co-develop EVs, GM and Honda have an official collaboration. Acura and Honda are owned by Honda Motor Co. It collaborates with GM. Sony Honda Mobility is the name of the electric vehicle firm they founded with Sony. Genesis, Hyundai, and Kia are all owned by Hyundai Motor Group. Mazda is owned by Mazda Motor Corp. Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Infiniti are all owned by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. Following the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot S.A., a new company called Stellantis was created. According to the explanation, the word is derived from the Latin verb “stello,” which means “to dazzle with stars.” Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, and Ram are now under Stellantis and are FCA brands that are offered in the United States. Other Stellantis automobile brands include Citroen, DS Automobiles, Opel, Peugeot, and Vauxhall. Subaru is owned by Subaru Corp. Jaguar and Land Rover are owned by Tata Motors. Owned by Tesla. Lexus and Toyota are owned by Toyota Motor Corp. Additionally, it owns stock in Suzuki and Subaru. The automotive brand VinFast, along with VinHomes, VinBigData, VinBioCare, and VinBrain, are all owned by VinGroup. Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Scout, and Volkswagen are all brands owned by Volkswagen AG. Volvo, Polestar, and Lotus are all brands owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (ZGH).
Why is Subaru owned by Toyota?
For the past 15 years, Toyota has been slowly developing an interest in Subaru. Toyota began making investments in the business in 2005. Reuters reports that Toyota received an 8.7% share in Fuji Heavy Industries as a result of the initial transaction (better known as Subaru.)
Toyota’s ownership of the corporation grew throughout time. Toyota said in September 2019 that it has opted to expand its stake in the business to an astonishing 20%.
Subaru had no interest in Toyota at the time, and that hasn’t changed. Subaru collaborated with Toyota and made a little investment in the company as Toyota’s interest in Subaru grew.
“Subaru President Tomomi Nakamura stated in a news release that there has been a 14-year cooperation between our company and Toyota. He continued by saying,
“Through staff exchanges and other means, we have strengthened our ties in a number of areas, including product development, manufacturing, and sales.
How does Subaru compare to Toyota?
Both of them market cars with excellent performance, value, and dependability. The emphasis on safety that Subaru automobiles are known for is something that Toyota is now addressing. You’ll be persuaded that Subaru is a better bargain and a more dependable car when you compare models side by side.
Subaru is able to use Toyota parts.
Subaru is having a wonderful decade so far; its sales in the United States have doubled, and they are having difficulties meeting demand. While that’s fantastic news for Subaru, a thorough investigation by Reuters reveals that in order to keep the Foresters coming off the assembly line, Subaru and its suppliers have used some dubious but legal labor methods.
You should read the complete report from Reuters, which includes video interviews with employees and a graphic showing which companies supply certain pieces of a Forester.
- Since 2011, Subaru’s sales in the US have doubled; the Forester SUV crossover is particularly well-liked here. Its advertising showcases adoring families, adorable dogs, and incredibly durable cars, all with the slightly perplexing phrase, “Love. It distinguishes a Subaru as a Subaru.
- North of Tokyo in the Japanese city of Ota, there is a Subaru production facility. While some automobiles marketed in the United States are put together in an Indiana factory, Ota, Japan, is where Subaru and its suppliers source their parts.
- Workers from the poor world, some of whom are in Japan seeking asylum, are employed by Subaru and its suppliers. Reuters spoke with employees who were from 22 different Asian and African nations.
- A third or more of their wages may be paid to labor brokers, who are also utilized by Subaru’s suppliers in the garment and textile industries.
- Some employees join Subaru through traineeship programs, which ostensibly aim to teach trainees skills they can use when they return to their native nation. Once in Japan, trainees are unable to change employers, and according to the United Nations and the U.S. State Department, trainee conditions can resemble forced labor.
- According to the pay stubs that Reuters examined, Chinese trainees made around half as much money as a Japanese temporary worker would have for the same position.
- Because Japan is unique in that it needs workers but also has immigration restrictions, Subaru reportedly extensively relies on temporary employees and trainees. According to Reuters, 30% of the workers in the Ota factories are foreigners.
- The same factories that produce parts for Subaru also produce parts for Honda, Toyota, and Nissan, three other Japanese manufacturers.
- A reform in the law that allows foreigners seeking asylum to work on renewable six-month permits coincided with Subaru’s growth in sales. Subaru manufactures around 80% of its automobiles in Japan.
- Subaru claims that its suppliers must follow the law when it comes to the employment and treatment of their employees and that the business is ill-equipped to monitor all of its suppliers’ labor policies.
Why is Subaru not well-known?
The issues that the Outback and Legacy have experienced with in-car technology are one of the main reasons Subaru reliability has declined. Since the early 2000s, this has been a common cause of diminishing reliability in a number of brands and models. Today’s autos feature a ton of innovative and sophisticated technology.
What does the Japanese word Subaru mean?
“SUBARU” is a combination of the Japanese word for “unite” and the Greek name for a group of six stars in the Taurus constellation known as the Pleiades. Greek mythology states that these stars are the transformation of Atlas’ daughters.
Subaru is dependable?
Subaru ranks seventh overall in expected reliability out of twenty-eight automakers in the U.S. market, placing them in the top 25% of the most reliable car brands category, according to a recent Consumer Reports survey for 2021. The full report is available here for reading.
The Subaru Crosstrek subcompact SUV and Forester small SUV offer better than average reliability, according to the most recent CR assessment. The Subaru Outback is rated as the third most reliable small SUV by iSeeCars, and CR places the 2022 Outback first overall among eleven midsize SUVs.
According to various tests, Subaru makes dependable all-wheel-drive SUVs. The Subaru Forester has improved the most from its scores from the previous year, while the Subaru Crosstrek, which received the highest score, is Subaru of America’s best-selling subcompact SUV. Additionally, the Subaru Outback receives outstanding reliability ratings recently.
Toyota sold Subaru when?
Today, Subaru Corporation declared that it has fulfilled the terms of the agreement between the two automakers by completing the purchase of Toyota Motor shares. Toyota strengthened its long-term collaboration with Subaru by increasing its ownership from 16.83 percent to 20 percent in September 2019. Today, Subaru paid $675 million for 8,973,700 shares of Toyota Motor Corporation.
The Japanese automakers state in today’s release, “Subaru will keep working to improve the long-term partnership between the two businesses and move forward. What does that mean for the Forester, Outback, and Ascent models of the upcoming generation?
Since 2005, Subaru and Toyota have collaborated to create new vehicles like the BRZ and GR86 sports coupe. The alliance will now advance and build an all-electric SUV as well as a platform specifically for battery electric cars (BEVs).
Both the all-wheel-drive and vehicle electrification technologies from Toyota and Subaru will be used in the new all-electric model. According to the statement from September 2019, “In the CASE (connected, autonomous/automated, shared, and electric) future, Toyota and Subaru want to develop ever-better cars than either business has been able to produce so far.
What Subaru should I stay away from?
The two Subaru years to steer clear of are 2009 and 2013, as these years saw significant redesigns that resulted in large safety recalls for several models.
The Subaru brand is recognized as being connected with dependability, powerful performance, and the passion put into each vehicle. But while Subaru has revamped and reinvented its cars over the years, a few model years in particular have been plagued by mechanical issues and safety recalls.
Does Subaru have many issues?
We are aware of Subaru’s popularity. It appeals to a variety of customers, including canines that have a significant influence over their owners. Subaru has a large fan base because they provide dependable vehicles that are secure and last for a very long time. Additionally, they are reasonably priced and rather attractive. In a 2019 investigation by J. You guessed it: Subaru came out on top of D. Power’s study of the most devoted automakers. It received a 61.5% loyalty rating, placing it first.
Despite being well-liked, Subaru has experienced several persistent troubles over the past few years, including some major (and expensive) service concerns including faults with its CVT transmission and Subaru’s engine issues.
In this article, we’ll examine the most typical Subaru engine issues as well as the durability of the 2.5-liter boxer engine. Additionally, we’ll try to determine which Subaru engine is the most dependable. So, if you’re shopping for a used Subaru, you’ll know what to look out for.
Get a free quote for one of our “extended auto warranty solutions” if you are thinking about purchasing a used car that is a 2012 model or newer, has less than 140,000 miles on it, and is in good condition.