Subaru is 70 years old

Subaru has celebrated its 70th-anniversary on July 15, 2023.

The Japanese automotive brand traces its roots back to the Aircraft Research Laboratory established in 1917, which later became Nakajima Aircraft Co. Ltd. On July 15, 1953, the then-Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. entered a series of reorganizations and was later renamed to Subaru Corporation, on April 1, 2017.

Since then, the company has expanded into a variety of businesses with automotive as its primary business. Its other ventures included aerospace, industrial products, eco-technologies, bus manufacturing, and prefabricated housing businesses.

Today, Subaru noted, automotive and aerospace are the two pillars of the company’s business.

On the automotive side of things, Subaru saw its first entry into the Japanese car industry when it released the Subaru 360 sometime in 1958. The Subaru 360 was the company’s take on a minicar designed to fulfill the Japanese government's concept of a “people's car.”

And after, the company continued to deliver distinctive technologies and products such as the Leone, Japan’s first mass-produced all-wheel drive (AWD) vehicle; the Legacy, which led the station wagon boom; the EyeSight advanced driver-assist system; and the Subaru BRZ sports car and Solterra battery-electric sport utility vehicle, both co-developed with Toyota Motor Corporation.

Its efforts in the auto industry often brought new value to customers in response to, and sometimes ahead of, the times.

Over the years, the Tokyo-headquartered brand pointed out, Subaru has received strong support from customers around the world. On that note, the company reached cumulative production of 20 million AWD automobiles in 2021 and cumulative global sales of five million EyeSight-equipped Subaru vehicles in 2022.

In the aerospace business, Subaru’s first foray was in 1958 when the company released its first jet plane, the T-1.

Since then, Subaru has been enhancing its technologies by participating in domestic aircraft development programs and international joint development programs. The brand then grew with three core businesses in the aerospace industry, namely, defense programs, commercial programs such as the Boeing 787, and helicopter programs such as the UH-2.

Just last month, Subaru began working under a new management team. The new administration will see the company work as one team to overcome this era of significant changes in the automotive industry and strive for further growth.

“With our products and value propositions, Subaru will continue to provide ‘Enjoyment and Peace of Mind’ through a variety of efforts to enrich people’s hearts and lives by staying close to our customers and society. With the goal of ‘Delivering Happiness’ to people, society, and even the earth, Subaru will strive for the sustainable growth of the Subaru Group and the realization of an enjoyable and sustainable society.

Photo from Subaru

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