Subaru Speeds Up U.S. Capacity Expansion Plan, Again

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. intends to trim at least six months from its already-accelerated plan to nearly double its capacity to make Subaru cars in the U.S., according to The Nikkei.

FHI originally intended to expand the annual capacity of its factory in Lafayette, Ind., to 328,000 units in 2016 and 400,000 units in early 2021. But in May it announced plans to reach 394,000 units of output by the end of 2016. 

Now the company says it will begin next summer to add 70,000 units of capacity for its popular Outback SUV. 

The Lafayette facility currently operates two assembly lines. One makes the Legacy sedan along with the Outback at an annual rate of 200,000 units. The second assembles Camry sedans for Toyota Motor Corp.

Toyota will relocate Camry production a year from now, releasing about 120,000 units of capacity for the two Subaru models. The Nikkei notes that North America, where Subaru expects to sell a record 600,000 units in 2016, accounts for about 60% of the brand’s global volume.