Fuji Heavy Industries Becomes Subaru

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., maker of Subaru cars, will change its name to Subaru Corp. on April 1. The company announced the planned move last May.

The name change coincides with Fuji Heavy’s 100th anniversary. The company was launched in Japan as the Aircraft Research Laboratory in 1917, became Fuji Heavy Industries in 1953 and introduced its first Subaru-brand car in 1958.

Based in Ebisu, the company predicts its worldwide production will set a fourth consecutive record this year by growing 8% to 1.11 million units. The brand’s global sales in 2016 also grew 8% to 1.09 million. Subaru sales exceeded 1 million units—90% outside Japan—for the first time in 2015.

The company assembles cars at four plants in Japan and one in the U.S.