Subaru to Expand U.S. Production Capacity 33%

Subaru brand owner Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. confirms it will add 100,000 units of annual capacity to its factory in Lafayette, Ind., by 2017.

FHI President Yasuyuki Yoshinaga said in May the company planned to hike the plant's capacity to 394,000 units in 2016. Subaru sales in the U.S. jumped 21% to 513,700 units in 2014 and are up 13% so far this year.

The 26-year-old facility currently makes about 300,000 Subaru Impreza and Legacy sedans, Subaru Outback wagons and Toyota Camry sedans per year. The expansion, which will add about 1,200 jobs by 2017, will enable the facility to launch a new seven-passenger SUV for the North American market about three years from now.