Subaru Continues To See Growing Market Share in U.S.

Despite being two days shorter than last November, this November is proving to be a strong one for Subaru. The Japanese automaker is on track to see a 20-percent increase in sales in the U.S., marking the fifth consecutive month it’s seen sales grow in the country.

Through October, Subaru has seen its U.S. sales grow 13 percent this year, thanks in no small part to interest in the company’s new Legacy and Outback models. The growth is in stark contrast to the 26-percent decline witnessed in the U.S. auto industry overall, a fact not lost on Subaru’s CEO.

“We’ve identified the United States as the single-most important market under our medium-term strategy,” CEO Ikuo Mori told Reuters. Mori still has his concerns surrounding sales in the U.S, but says his feeling is things are “gradually getting better.”

Along with other Japanese automakers, volatile exchange rates have troubled the companies in the U.S. market. The dollar has just reached a 14-year low this past week (when traded with the Yen). The exchange rate is hurting Subaru, but unlike its Japanese competitors, it’s unable to build a business case to build more models in the U.S. Presently, it builds the Legacy, Outback, and Tribeca models in Lafayette, Indiana.

One market Subaru is considering building vehicles in is China. Subaru predicts an 85-percent sales increase in the market, and shifting production of popular vehicles to a facility within the market would only help increase profit margins.

Source: Reuters