Subaru to Expand U.S. Dealer Network

Subaru Corp. aims to grow its dealership count in the U.S. by 10% over the next several years, mainly by adding stores in the southern states.

President Yasuyuki Yoshinaga tells The Nikkei the company also expects to increase U.S. sales 10% to 800,000 units in the fiscal year that began April 1. He anticipates the growth even though the American car market has trailed year-ago volumes through the last four months. Subaru sales in January-April rose 8% to 196,600 units, according to Autodata Corp.

Subaru currently has 630 retailers in the U.S., but only one in four is located in the south. The American market, where the brand's sales have more than doubled in five years, now generates 60% of Subaru's global sales.