Subaru Delays U.S. Capacity Decision

President Yasuyuki Yoshinaga tells Bloomberg News that Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. has postponed until March a decision about whether to expand its North American factory capacity.

Yoshinaga says the three-month delay isn't problematic because slumping demand in China and Europe is allowing the company to divert more vehicles to America. Subaru's U.S. sales have surged 29% to a record 299,800 vehicles in the first 11 months of 2012.

Yoshinaga predicts FHI will choose an "incremental" expansion of its existing facility in Lafayette, Ind., rather than building a new assembly plant. He says the search for more capacity will not cause the company to curtail the Indiana factory's production of Camry sedans for Toyota Motor Corp.