No matter where it was sold, Subaru used to make every single Impreza at home in Japan. That came to an end yesterday, when the first Impreza rolled off the assembly line at the company’s factory in Indiana.
Backed by eight consecutive years of sales increase in the US, Subaru has added assembly of its compact model to the plant that already produces the Legacy and Outback.
The facility in Lafayette, Indiana, has been in operation for nearly 30 years now, and is set to add production of a new three-row crossover as well sometime in 2018. To accommodate, the plant will nearly double its overall annual capacity from 218,000 to 394,000 units by the end of this year and to 436,000 by March 2019.
Imprezas built there are earmarked primarily for the US and Canadian markets. So far this year, the company has sold 48,080 Imprezas in the United States, making it only Subaru’s fifth most successful model line out of the seven it offers. The Forester and Outback are its most popular at around 145,000 sold so far this year, followed by the Crosstrek at 77k and the Legacy at over 53k.