Subaru Posts First Loss in 15 Years
Nante hazukashi! (How embarrassing!) Japanese car manufacturers show very bad manners and use red ink in their books.
Fuji Heavy, makers of Subaru, posted its first net loss in 15 years in the fiscal year ended March, the Nikkei [sub] says. Resposible? The usual suspects: Sluggish consumption, tighter conditions, a drop in vehicle sales in all major markets, and the yen’s rise.
Fuji Heavy posted a net loss of ¥69.93 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, sharply down from a net profit of ¥18.48 billion a year earlier. Says the Nikkei: “For this fiscal year, Fuji Heavy, in which Toyota Motor Corp. owns a 16 percent stake, projects a net loss of ¥55 billion, operating loss of ¥35 billion and sales of ¥1.320 trillion, with auto demand likely to remain stagnant and the yen strong.”
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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I don't agree that Subaru thinks "it can be the next Honda or Toyota"; the results when they last made such an attempt in the early 1990s almost drove them from the US market (see Randall Rothenberg's Where the Suckers Moon, concerning the full-line "What to Drive" campaign). Subaru only survived in the US by limiting its model lineup and going AWD-only. I do despair for Subaru nonetheless. The boxer engine is about all that now distinguishes its products from others with available AWD in the markets such as New England that are its home base of loyalists in the US. And with its cars growing taller, the low center of gravity of the Subaru drivetrain has less of an effect on the total (increased) mass. (I'm one of those who has always preferred the Legacy over the raised Outback - that is, I probably enjoy using the AWD on dry roads more than most Subie drivers do - and I lament the end of the 20-year run of proper Legacy vehicles. I'll have to see for myself, but I can't believe the fantastic outward visibility of my 5-speed '03 Legacy wagon could be matched by the new model with its evidently higher cowl.)
tedward : Good points. I agree. Fortunately, after the first loss in 15 years I'm sure the head of Fuji/Subaru will have to do some harakiri and that will be suitable punishment for the uglifying/wimpifying of the current line. I dream of a Toyobaru AE86 model with a transplanted STI awd drivetrain...
Damn Subaru... Why can't they be more like Chrysler and GM? Who wants a fantastically built reliable vehicle anyway? I for one have no confidence in an automaker that does not survive solely on the American (and Canadian) taxpayer.
Love the picture! Is that Ayumi Hamasaki??