Subaru – One Of The Most Prominent Japanese Automobile Companies
The automobile industry keeps growing and flourishing for a long time. Many Asian companies have gained recognition in the automobile industry. But, Subaru is one of the largest automobile companies in Asia. And, in the world, it ranks twenty-second largest in terms of its production.
The population of Japan has witnessed huge rapid development in every field in the last few decades. From software companies to the automotive industry, they have buckled up to set and break their record. Subaru Corporation is the parent company of Subaru, the automobile sector. In 1953, Kenji Kiti and Chikuhei Nakajima founded the company. Though the parent company belonged to Chikuhei, Kenji built his own from scratch.
How did it start?
Chikuhei was a very prominent person on the lands of Japan. Apart from being a gigantic industrialist, Chikuhei was a Japanese naval officer, engineer, and politician. He went to Naval Staff College and then to the United States for further studies. He also went to Europe for some time. Chikuhei was the third Japanese to receive a pilot license.
In 1915, Chikuhei decided to establish a career in the industrial world as well and established Fuji Heavy Industries. Initially, Chikuhei started it as an aircraft research laboratory then later it became a manufacturing house of aircraft. The company’s name was renamed as Nakajima Aircraft Company and the production escalated during World War II.
After World War II
In 1946, after World War II ended, the company became famous as Fuji Sangyo Co. This year, the company created its first motor scooter, Fuji Rabbit. They used the spare parts of aircraft from the war to build it. In 1950, the Japanese government passed a new act which led the division of the company to twelve different smaller corporations.
Founding Kenji
During this time, Kenji was the CEO of Fuji Heavy Industries. But, he wanted to establish a new car company of his own. He started planning accordingly. Kenji suggested many names for the company and he found all of them very less attractive. But, Kenji decided to name his company “Subaru” which means Pleiades Star Cluster in Japan.
The first car of Subaru was Subaru 1500. Kenji came across a lot of obstacles regarding the manufacturing unit. And, only twenty of Subaru 1500 were manufactured. Later, more models like the tiny air-cooled 360, the Sambar, and, 1000 came up.
Nissan, General Motors and finally Toyota
Fuji Heavy Industries was the parent company of Subaru. And, in 1968, Nissan acquired 20.4 percent of its stake. This was a government order with a vision to go international and improve competitiveness. But, the acquisition was beneficial for both the companies. Nissan decided to use the strategy of Fuji Heavy Industries’s bus manufacturing unit. And, in turn, Subaru even now uses manufacturing parts of Nissan.
After the partnership, Subaru launched a series of new models. In 1969, it introduced R-2 which was followed by the Rex, the Leon, the BRAT, the Legacy, and, many more. In 1999, Nissan’s stake at FHI was sold to General Motors as Renault acquired Nissan. After this arrangement, Subaru introduced Baja in 2003 and Tribeca in 2005.
In 2005, the stake of FHI was liquidated by General Motors. Toyota Motors acquired 40 percent of this stake which accounts for 8.7 percent of the total stake. The joint of Toyota Motors and Fuji Heavy Industries worked off well and they have committed to many projects since then. In 2008, Toyota was having a 16.5 percent stake of FHI and they jointly launched the Toyota 86.
Eco-friendly manufacturers
Subaru is very strict about environmental issues and it claims to educate its every employee regarding recycling, eco-friendly implementations. And, unlike most of the company Subaru does preach and practice. The Lafayette Subaru plant achieved zero-landfill status as every by-product from the plant were recycled and reused.
In 2006, this plant received the U.S. EPA’s Gold Achievement Award in the sector of WasteWise Program.
The company has its current headquarters in Ebisu, Tokyo. Apart from Japan, Subaru has well-established markets in Canada, the United Kingdom and, United States. In Asia, it has production plants in Bangkok, Thailand, the Philippines, and many other places.
Annasha Dey is an NIT student, who apart from studying engineering is also a content writer. She has a great interest in photography, writing, reading novels, and travelling as well. She is a foodie who loves socializing and hanging out with her friends. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and a big fashion enthusiast. Dey also loves watching TV series, which includes F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Big Bang Theory. To be a better writer she prefers to read more