.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg) |
| The Forester somewhere in the outback |
Subaru is a small car company by current standards. Even a million cars isn't enough to be a mass car maker and independent. That is why Toyota took a stake in the company in 2005, to help it survive as a niche mass market brand. Together they brought out the BRZ/86 model, something unrealistic for Subaru alone. The cooperation goes beyond that too.
Globally a 14% sales rise is strong. The wagon version of the Impreza, the Levorg (I kid you not) has been a hit in Japan and the 4th generation 2014 Forester had a stellar year. I assume 'Mini' applies to Kei cars sold in Japan.
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Model | 2014 | Share | + / - | |
| 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Impreza | 271,899 | 33.0% | 11% | |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | Forester | 267,745 | 32.5% | 62% | |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Legacy | 201,673 | 24.4% | -13% | |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | Mini | 55,454 | 6.7% | 10% | |
| - | - | 7 | 5 | 5 | BRZ | 19,202 | 2.3% | 14% | |
| 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | Exiga | 3,853 | 0.5% | -48% | |
| 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | Tribeca | 2,561 | 0.3% | -40% | |
| Others | 2,711 | 0.4% | |||||||
| Total | 825,098 | 14% |
Regions: North America is where they sell like hot cakes, with almost 60% of all Subaru cars sold there in 2014. That is in contrast to the 1990's just over a third of sales back then. However, from 2010 forward, momentum built until this all time high we see now. Comparing that with its home market, in 2001 over half of sales were in Japan, but now less than a quarter. The two nations have switched places. Europe had 14.4% of global sales in 2008, but has slipped to less than 6% in 2014. Australia peaked in 2011 with 9.1% share of worldwide unit sales and China 9.5%. Both have fallen back since.
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Region | 2014 | Share | + / - | |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Nth America | 477,812 | 57.9% | 22% | |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Japan | 181,601 | 22.0% | 11% | |
| 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Europe | 47,070 | 5.7% | -23% | |
| 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | China | 44,807 | 5.4% | -11% | |
| 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | Australia | 39,515 | 4.8% | 4% | |
| 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | Others | 34,293 | 4.2% | 58% |
Data source: Fuji Subaru.
Summary: Total sales are growing nicely. It has been most beneficial for Subaru to be doing so well in North America but the old adage of too many eggs in one basket come to mind. Surely that is understood by the company and they would prefer a broader sales coverage. The big increase in 'Other' region is a good sign.
 |
| Just over 19,000 BRZ sports cars found homes in 2014 |
No comments