Report: Subaru dealers need more cars to keep up with the demand
By Andrew C., 30 Aug, 2010. 0 Comments
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Subaru dealers want to build up up the inventory due to increasing sales and an expanding market share. After the make meeting participated by the dealers, Phil Porter, chairman of the Subaru National Dealer Advisory Board, stated that there's a need to stock up on many models, particularly the updated Outback crossover and Legacy sedan. Porter, who owns three Subaru stores in Florida and Connecticut, said that since they don´t have excess inventory, he doesn´t know how many Outbacks and Legacys it can sell.
COO Tom Doll told Automotive News that Subaru of America's overall supply is under 30 days. Supplies of the Outback and Legacy are under 10 days. Doll said that its biggest challenge is to bring a huge number of cars to dealers in order to increase sales. Already, Subaru's plant in Indiana is running on overtime, including weekends.
Furthermore, Subaru is investing in additional tooling in the plant to expand capacity. Doll said that the upgrades are expected to come in April and July. Porter said that the added production will lead to that sales rise this year. Despite that thin inventory, Subaru's January sales rose 28% to almost 16,000 vehicles. In 2009, Subaru sales in the US rose 15% to 216,652 vehicles, as overall industry sales fell 21%.
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