Subaru of America

Subaru of America, Inc. (commonly known as SOA), based in Camden, New Jersey, is the United States-based distributor of Subaru's brand vehicles, a subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. The company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers throughout the United States.

Subaru of America, Inc.
TypeSubsidiary
Founded1968
HeadquartersCamden, New Jersey,
United States
Key people
Tomomi Nakamura[1][2] (Chairman of the Board and CEO, Subaru of America)
Thomas J. Doll,[3][4] (President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, Subaru of America)
ProductsSubaru vehicles in the United States market
Number of employees
1,500
ParentSubaru Corporation
WebsiteSubaru.com

In 1967, Malcolm Bricklin approached Subaru with the idea of bringing the tiny Subaru 360 to the United States. After a great deal of regulatory red tape and negotiation, Bricklin made a deal with Subaru. Bricklin formed Subaru of America, Inc. to sell Subaru franchises and later brought in Harvey Lamm as the COO.

Subaru of America established the Eastern Division in 1968 in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania at 555 City Line Avenue, and the Western Division at 1000 West Coast Hwy, Newport Beach, California.[5] The headquarters later moved to Pennsauken, New Jersey and then Cherry Hill, New Jersey. In 1986, it was fully acquired by Fuji Heavy Industries (now named Subaru Corporation).

In 1989, Subaru and then-partner Isuzu opened a joint factory in Lafayette, Indiana, called Subaru-Isuzu Automotive, Inc., or SIA, which initially manufactured the Subaru Legacy and Isuzu Rodeo. In 2001, Isuzu sold its stake in the plant to FHI for $1 due to flagging sales and it was renamed Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. SIA has been designated a backyard wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation, and has achieved a zero-landfill production designation.

Subaru built a new 250,000 square foot headquarters in Camden, New Jersey and relocated there in 2018. In May 2019 demolition started on the previous Subaru building in Cherry Hill.[6]

Products

Subaru cars available in North America:

Present models

Past models

Motorsports

With the rise of rally racing, and the import scene in the U.S., the introduction of the highly anticipated Subaru Impreza WRX in 2001 was successful in bringing high performance, AWD compact cars into the sports car mainstream. Subaru supplies a factory-backed team for Rally America, and has won the driver's title in five of the seasons.[7]

Starting in 2006, Subaru of America sponsored the Subaru Road Racing Team (SRRT) with a Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT Spec-B in the Grand-Am Street Tuner class. In 2010, SRRT campaigns a WRX STI in the Grand Sport class.[8]

See also

References

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