Awd, Only 30k Miles, Heated Seats, Auxiliary Input, Thousands Under Book on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Subaru profits fall by half last year among recall maladies

Subaru took a financial beating last year, according to its freshly released earnings report. During the full fiscal year, which ended March 31, the carmaker's operating profits effectively halved. Net income dropped 33% to 147.81 billion yen, or $1.33 billion, and revenue fell 2.2% to 3.16 trillion yen ($28.5 billion). Subaru states that its operating income declined by 48.5% to 195.5 billion yen, or to about $1.78 billion. According to Subaru, this was not only due to a decrease in sales, but also due to recall campaigns. Total production decreased nearly 6% to 989,000 units, and production stoppages at the Gunma plant were partially to blame for that — but Impreza, XV and Levorg sales also sank. The redesigned Forester did start out well in the summer, but sales in the first half of 2018 were more modest with the outgoing generation still in the showrooms. The Gunma manufacturing plant, Subaru's sole factory in Japan, ground to a halt in January 2019 to remedy issues with Forester, Crosstrek and Impreza electric power steering units, and that cost Subaru nearly 10 days of production, corresponding to around 30,000 vehicles. Earlier, there was a 500,000-vehicle recall in Japan due to fraudulent final inspections. Automotive News also lists other recent Subaru maladies, such as a low-fuel warning recall and stop-sale for all U.S-market Outbacks and Legacys, and the earlier, global recall to repair valve springs on the boxer engines of 411,000 vehicles. This particular recall hasn't been problem-free, as there have been cases where subsequent engine failures on BRZ models have been suspected of having been caused by slapdash recall work. There is also a new, large-scale recall in the horizon for Subaru, as a brake light issue on 2008-2017 vehicles necessitates the recall of some 2.3 million vehicles. However, it's not all bleak for Subaru, as U.S. sales are going strong. The carmaker predicts 2019 will be the 11th straight record year, and U.S. retail sales climbed 7.7 percent in April, which was the 89th consecutive month with increased sales. But still, not all Subaru markets are equal: On the North American market, Subaru sold 717,000 vehicles during the past fiscal year, an enormous percentage of its total sales. News Source: Subaru via Automotive News Plants/Manufacturing Recalls Subaru

Subaru plans biggest-ever global recall over brake lights

TOKYO — Subaru Corp plans to recall around 2.3 million vehicles globally over a brake light problem, in what would be the automaker's biggest-ever recall as it grapples with a series of quality-related issues following rapid expansion. Japan's sixth-largest automaker told Reuters on Friday that it was recalling nearly 2 million of its popular Impreza and Forester models in the United States, its biggest market, and other countries, along with around 300,000 units in Japan to fix a fault with the brake light switch which can lead to ignition problems. Vehicles affected were produced from 2008 through 2017. If all of the identified vehicles are recalled, it would be the automaker's biggest in terms of affected units, excluding the ongoing Takata airbag recall. Since late 2017, Subaru has been reeling from a host of problems ranging from faulty components to inspection re-dos which, coupled with weakening sales in the United States, has forced the automaker to slash its full-year profit outlook to its weakest in six years. Quality-related issues have cast a pall on the automaker which enjoyed years of rapid growth in the United States, where it won over affluent and liberal-minded consumers with advertisements featuring slogans championing love and inclusion. Such branding boosted the image of the relatively tiny automaker, prompting it to ramp up production in the United States, which accounts for around 60 percent of its global sales volume. But in January, Subaru halted production at its sole car factory in Japan for nearly two weeks, holding up roughly 60 percent of its global output after it found a defect in a power steering component. Late last year, it announced a global recall of its signature boxer engines over an issue with its valve springs, while it has launched a series of domestic recalls for re-inspections after it admitted to cheating on testing processes. Related Video:

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #344 LIVE!

We're set to record Autoblog Podcast #344 tonight, joined by Doug DeMuro, author of Plays With Cars, formerly of Porsche Cars North America, and all-around swell guy. You can drop us your questions and comments via our Q&A module below, and we'll give them extra-diligent attention. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #344
BRZ STI?