Subaru is, on the scale of global automotive manufacturers, a small player, even as it has grown in recent years. This makes milestones like the one just announced worth noting. For a company of this size, objectives are different than they are for a General Motors.
The Japanese automaker’s plant in Lafayette, Indiana has just produced its 4th millionth vehicle.
The achievement resonates because that factory is the company’s only facility located outside of Japan.
"This is an incredible milestone for our associates and our company. We've come a long way since building our first Subaru vehicle more than 30 years ago.”
- Scott Brand, senior vice president of Subaru of Indiana Automotive
The Lafayette plant first opened in 1989, and over its lifespan it has witnessed some the most difficult periods experienced by the company, notably in the 1990s. Today it employs 5,700 workers and produced 370,000 per year. Among the models assembled there are the Legacy, Ascent, Impreza and Outback.
And what vehicle had the honour of being the 4 millionth vehicle produced at the plant? A grey Outback.
That model, it should be noted, represents a turning point for the company going forward. Starting in July, the new 2020 Outback that was revealed recently at the New York Auto Show will be produced at the Indiana plant.
Fun fact: of the four million vehicles assembled at the Lafayette factory, not all carried the Subaru badge. When it first opened for business in 2918, the plant’s assembly line spewed out not just Legacys but also… Isuzus. In the 1990s, other Isuzu models as well as the Honda Passport were built there, and more recently the Toyota Camry was assembled there alongside Subaru models.