Subaru has announced it will invest $140 million to expand annual production at its plant in Lafayette, Indiana.
The Japanese automaker wants to build an additional 100,000 vehicles a year at its sole US plant in order to meet record demand in the country. As a result of the investment, the facility will gain 1,204 jobs by 2017. The Lafayette plant currently has more than 3,800 workers and produces about 300,000 vehicles per year.
Subaru’s announcement comes only a week after Subaru CEO Yasuyuki Yoshinaga’s comments about plans to build a seven-seat SUV at the Lafayette plant after 2017 which would be destined exclusively for North America.
The plant currently builds the Subaru Outback and Legacy, as well as the Toyota Camry. Subaru’s facility has been building the Camry since 2007, but production of the sedan will be moved to Toyota’s Georgetown, Kentucky plant in fall 2016.
The Camry’s shift to Georgetown would free up capacity of 100,000 vehicles in Lafayette, besides the additional 100,000 that have been just announced.
This is Subaru’s second major investment in its Indiana plant in recent years. The plant is also undergoing a $400 million expansion which will allow Subaru to begin building the Impreza by the end of 2016.
In the first eight months of this year, Subaru has sold 375,632 vehicles, up 13 percent compared to the same period in 2014. The Japanese automaker is expected to sell about 563,000 vehicles during this year, compared with 513,693 last year.
Story references: Autonews
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