Subaru of America broke its yearly sales record with a month of the year to go. Sales for 2015 through November of more than 526,000 vehicles surpass the last annual sales record of 513,693 vehicles set in 2014. This is Subaru’s eighth year of sales increases and its seventh successive sales record in the United States. It days supply of unsold vehicles is under 20 n an industry where 60 is considered ideal.
Worrisome though are the remarks of Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, president of Subaru-maker Fuji Heavy Industries at the Tokyo Motor show last month. Yoshinaga told Automotive News that Subaru will cap maximum annual global production at 1.03 million vehicles. This can increase to 1.1 million vehicles using overtime. No new factories are foreseen.
Is this a bluff – while Subaru talks to political entities about a new plant, or a recognition that the business is cyclical and today’s good times are limited?
