Halaman

    Social Items

Showing posts with label Brand - Subaru. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brand - Subaru. Show all posts

I am one who is critical of the lack of imagination Japanese car makers have shown for some time now. Design is never revolutionary and halo models simply don't exist anymore. Well Toyota and Subaru have finally decided to create a model that will never sell in big numbers but show it still has a little soul. The car in question the GT 86, made in collaboration with Subaru. Subaru, which is now part owned by Toyota, will have its own version named the BRZ.
This new sports car has a low centre of gravity, but doesn't have a turbocharger. This says outright speed isn't what it's about, but fun driving characteristics are. How refreshing. This means the obsession with ever more power is eschewed in favour of grin factor handling. I like it.
Of course, by two car makers sharing the project reduces cost and between the two brands, they will sell more than one maker would alone. Most importantly it shows that the Japanese car makers may be waking up to the fact that you need models like this to show that a company offers excitement, not just safe and boring.

Toyota GT 86 & Subaru BRZ

The Japanese have many car brands, four of which make up this comparison. One is much bigger than the others but Suzuki has a dominant position in India and is much stronger in Japan. This makes it much bigger than the others, but take those two market's sales away and they then become quite similar in size. 

Below the first area is Production and the second Sales. Only Suzuki stated 'Other' sales and a total sales figure worldwide. This was over 200,000 short of the production total which is quite a lot. I then estimated the remaining three's 'Other' sales, assuming production and sales didn't vary the same way as Suzuki's. The figures cover the fiscal year April '12 to March '13:


Suzuki+/-Mazda+/-Mitsubishi+/-Subaru+/-
Prod







Japan1,044,117+2%879,129+4%486,438-17%583,078+25%
Other1,834,318+3%320,712-5%635,492+36%181,184+6%
Total2,878,435+3%1,199,841+1%1,121,930+6%764,262+20%









Sales







Japan671,823+13%216,257+5%134,021-11%169,205-5%
Other1,988,541+1%980,000980,000
590,000
Total2,660,364+4%1,166,2571,084,021
719,205

Suzuki: 36% of Suzuki production was in Japan, and 25% of sales. Therefore it made less of its cars in Japan than the other three, but had a bigger percentage of sales in its homeland than the others.


Mazda: 73% of production was at home and 18% of sales. This showed an excessive reliance on domestic production but not very dependent on Japan for car sales.


Mitsubishi: 43% of production was Japanese and 12% of its sales for Japan. Overall it depended less on Japan than the others, it's very poor domestic sales giving it that distinction.



Subaru: 76% of production was in Japan and 22% of sales. This is the most Japanese of the quartet here.




Summary: So how do I rate them?

Suzuki is part owned by VW, but this seems irrelevant as sharing between them is non-existent as far as I know. India and Japan are a plus, but dependence on mainly smaller, less profitable vehicles a minus. Unless the VW deal is more productive - or it can successfully move up market in size - then Suzuki is in a neutral position.

Mazda: Now without Ford and not a very big player is a negative, as is being a small brand at home. Still, with the Yen now undervalued again, new frugal engines and a fullish range of vehicles, quite well placed.

Mitsubishi: Too small to go it alone and no other brands wanting to own it, it seems to me Japanese banks keep it going. Not popular in Japan, it struggles just about everywhere else too. It makes some vehicles for PSA but needs much more of that, and concentrate on the Asia/ Pacific region. Not looking that good.

Subaru: It is far too small to be on its own so now Toyota is investing in it. That takes it from a huge negative to a very positive place. The future looks secure under Toyota's wing.

Suzuki Mazda Mitsubishi Subaru Worldwide Sales-Production Comparison 2012/13


The BRZ sports car - jointly developed with Toyota

Subaru is an everyday brand that isn't big enough to go it alone. Therefore in 1968, Nissan acquired a 20% share of Subaru at the direction of the Japanese government. Then in 1999, when Renault and Nissan got together, the Nissan stake was sold to GM. In 2005, Toyota bought into Fuji Heavy Industries (who own Subaru) and GM sold its share of the car maker. Currently Toyota own close to a fifth of FHI.

If that wasn't all to confusing, it says much about how things are done in Japan, competition and cooperation finely balanced. Subaru only makes cars in two plants in Japan and one in the USA. Japanese production rose 36% and the US was up 14%, for a combined increase of 30%. Subaru's not manufacturing in China will surely change in the not too distant future. 

Subaru appeal to some is its being different. The boxer engine configuration and 4wd give the brand uniqueness, something smaller brands need to be to survive. It is 22nd on the worldwide ranking of car/LCV makers.





2011Shr2012Shr



Japan418,54572.1%568,53775.5%



USA161,71627.9%184,78324.5%



Total580,2610.8%753,3200.9%
Data source: Thanks to OICA.

The Forester model

Subaru Worldwide Production By Nation : 2012


The Subaru XV, part of the Impreza range.

Subaru is a small fish struggling to survive in a big pond with some big fish. Recently Toyota took a modest share in the brand to help it. Japanese companies have a balance of competition and assistance.

The Subaru line up is unusual. It is based around just three models, assisted by Kei cars listed it seems under 'Mini'. The term OEM I believe means 'original equipment manufacturer' and I therefore take as a model brought in from another Japanese firm. If anyone can help with that one, please leave a comment.

The sudden increase in the Impreza sales is due to the new model, but especially the XV variant which has just arrived. The Legacy and Forester models are very consistent sellers for Subaru.





Sales By-  Model


111213
SalesShare+/-

331Impreza244,11433.7%105%

112Legacy231,66732.0%-1%

223Forester165,72322.9%-3%

444Mini50,3727.0%-45%

-75BRZ16,8112.3%

556Exiga7,3921.0%-8%

667Tribeca4,2430.6%-26%




OEM3,3690.5%-63%




Others7750.1%45%




Total724,466
13.2%

Now for the regions. In 2008, North America passed Japan as the most important sales region and is now well ahead of the home market. Australia is a stronghold for the brand, due no doubt to the 4wd. Subaru needs to widen out to more markets to minimise it's risk when regional downturns occur, a typical small fish vulnerability.



Sales By-  Region



Nth Amer390,21353.9%26%


Japan163,12222.5%-5%


Europe61,1018.4%11%


China50,1856.9%4%


Australia38,1205.3%3%


Others21,7253.0%16%

Data source: Thanks to Fuji.

The Subaru Stella (Daihatsu Move) is a mini Kei Car.

Subaru Sales By Model & Region : 2013

Google Blogger playing up again, like happened this time last year. If I cannot post, it will be another time of few articles coming through. This from the company that wants to bring us driverless cars. Scary. 


The WRX looks like it means business...

I was reading the NZ Autocar magazine for May 2014. In it was a head to head comparison between the above mentioned vehicles. As I will never be getting familiar with either model, it was interesting to hear the opinions of those that have.

First up the GTi. It was considered the more refined drive, with a nicer cockpit too. The twin clutch auto was rated better than the CVT in the Subaru. It was called a great allrounder, meaning I guess it did all things well. It came in at NZ$65,500.

...while the Golf GTi looks the more refined

The WRX was described as a better all-weather, all-road weapon. That I assume means the better drive of the two. It was also roomier. The price of the car is NZ$49,990.

The summary: The cars will appeal to different sorts of people, it was stated. I got the impression older ones will prefer the refined VW, but younger drivers the Subaru. It was also noted that the price difference for many would be too much to ignore. The GTi Performance is over 30% more expensive in NZ, and I cannot see anything that the VW has to offer over its Japanese opponent making it worth that. Where you love, pricing may be different, but down here a clear victory for the WRX.

PS. If VW NZ wants to prove that the VW is worth it, please email me at rdc1234@gmail.com for a test drive. I await your response.

Subaru WRX vs VW Golf GTi Performance

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.


1011121314Model2014Share+ / -

33311Impreza271,89933.0%11%

22232Forester267,74532.5%62%

11123Legacy201,67324.4%-13%

44444Mini55,4546.7%10%

--755BRZ19,2022.3%14%

55566Exiga3,8530.5%-48%

66677Tribeca2,5610.3%-40%






Others2,7110.4%






Total825,098
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.


1011121314Region2014Share+ / -

11111Nth America477,81257.9%22%

22222Japan181,60122.0%11%

44333Europe47,0705.7%-23%

33444China44,8075.4%-11%

55555Australia39,5154.8%4%

66666Others34,2934.2%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

Subaru Global Sales By Model & Nation : 2014

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)