Fuji Starts Production of Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86
Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (FHI), the manufacturer of Subaru automobiles, announced that it held a line-off ceremony at Subaru’s Gunma Main Plant (Ota-city, Gunma Prefecture, Japan) with Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) president Akio Toyoda and honored guests in attendance, in commemoration of the production start of the Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86.
FHI and TMC first agreed on business collaboration in Oct. 2005. After the companies expanded their cooperative ties with new agreements related to development and production in April 2008, they then began four years of development.
At the ceremony, TMC president Akio Toyoda said, “The Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 would not have been successfully developed without collaboration between FHI and TMC.”
FHI president Yasuyuki Yoshinaga said, “By constantly refining both models, TMC and FHI hope to nourish each model to be loved by customers all over the world for a long time to come.”
Subaru Gunma Main Plant, where minicars were previously manufactured, was recently renewed for the Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 production. FHI plans to produce the Impreza at the same plant by March 2013. The BRZ goes on sale in the United States, spring 2012. The announcement was made Friday, March 16.
Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan.
