Asian automakers dominate in good month for car sales
Honda and Subaru led U.S. sales gains in August as auto demand beat projections and Asia-based carmakers, buoyed by Toyota Motor Corp., combined for their best month ever.
Honda and Subaru led U.S. sales gains in August as auto demand beat projections and Asia-based carmakers, buoyed by Toyota Motor Corp., combined for their best month ever.
Subaru, which employs about 3,600 people in Lafayette, is taking measured steps to expand its production capacity, but today it is worried about running out of cars.
Executives at the company, which counts Toyota Motor Corp. as its biggest shareholder, will begin discussions this month through next year to determine the long-term direction of the Tokyo-based company.
The Japanese car maker already employs about 3,600 people at the plant and builds the Legacy and Outback cars and the Tribeca SUV. With the new investment, it will boost capacity by 100,000 cars and begin making the Impreza.
Subaru plans to expand its Lafayette factory and add hundreds of workers to build the Impreza small car there, a source briefed on the matter says.
Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., the Japanese maker of Subaru cars, intends to end a shortage of its vehicles at U.S. dealerships soon by expanding capacity at its Lafayette plant.
The maker of Subaru cars is targeting a 6-percent increase in global sales this year, spurred by the introduction of a new Forester SUV model. The company will use its plant in Lafayette to increase output.
Strong U.S. sales in December capped a remarkable year for the auto industry. U.S. sales of models manufactured in Indiana in 2012 by General Motors, Toyota, Honda and Subaru outpaced the national rate, rising 17 percent.
A deal struck 25 years ago brought Subaru-Isuzu to Indiana. Toyota followed in 1996, and Honda came in 2008. The three Japanese automakers now collectively employ 10,000 and support thousands more jobs at suppliers across the state.
Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.’s Subaru unit is studying whether to expand its Indiana auto-assembly plant as the Toyota Motor Corp. affiliate seeks to boost U.S. output to curb currency losses and meet growing demand for its models.
Subaru reported August sales up more than 35 percent from a year ago, joining other automakers in pushing U.S. sales to their highest level in three years. That could lead to increased production at its central Indiana factory.
On the cusp of realizing the end result of a historic, $1.3 billion investment in Kokomo's plants, Chrysler officials here and in Detroit, Mich., are riding high.
Subaru already employs 3,600 at its Lafayette facility, with 600 workers added in the past three years. The expansion will ramp up production from nearly 171,000 cars a year to at least 180,000.
Subaru of America is halting production on one of its Lafayette plant's production lines for four days due to a parts shortage caused by Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami.
Subaru of America is slowing production at its Lafayette plant because of a temporary auto parts shortage caused by Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami.
In the weeks ahead, car buyers will have difficulty finding the model they want in certain colors, thousands of auto plant workers will likely be told to stay home, and companies such as Toyota, Honda and others will lose billions of dollars in revenue.
Two Japanese automakers are scaling back production at North American plants as they assess their ability to get parts from Japan after that country's devastating earthquake and tsunami.
A panel discussion includes topics ranging from green power initiatives and hybrid cars to landfill policies and environmental regulations.
Indiana could be on the front line in the United Auto Workers’ campaign to unionize foreign-owned plants.
Employment in Indiana’s auto industry has stabilized, and manufacturers even are hiring in small numbers. Hoosier automakers and parts suppliers added 10,000 workers this year through August, bringing total employment in the sector to 100,400.