Nov 16th - Fuji Heavy Industries Planning Hybrid Vehicle For U.S. In 2012

The company unveiled the Subaru Hybrid Tourer concept car at the Tokyo Motor Show in October last year.

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., the maker of Subaru cars, is planning to launch a hybrid vehicle in the U.S. in 2012.

The automaker will develop the hybrid with the help of leading shareholder Toyota Motor Corp. The move is intended to expand Fuji Heavy's sales in the southern U.S. and California, where its market shares have been low but interest in environment friendly cars is strong.

Details have not been disclosed, but it is understood that Fuji Heavy will not launch a dedicated hybrid vehicle like Toyota's Prius, instead adding a hybrid version to one of its mainstay midsize cars. The company plans to adapt Toyota's hybrid vehicle technology to work with Fuji Heavy's unique horizontally opposed engines.

Once completed, the hybrid will first be released in Japan in 2012, where demand for such vehicles is high. It will then be modified slightly for the U.S. market for release by the end of that year. For now, plans are to build it at Fuji Heavy's plant in Ota, Gunma Prefecture, for export to America, the company's largest market that accounts for nearly 40% of its global sales. The vehicle could be introduced in other overseas markets if U.S. sales take off.

In 2010, Fuji Heavy's U.S. sales are projected to rise 15.4% to 250,000 units, but most of that is coming from the snowy northern regions where customers tend to favor four-wheel-drive vehicles.