Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. plans to expand its Lafayette, Ind., manufacturing plant at a projected cost of $400 million. The plan is to add capacity and start production of the Subaru Impreza hatchback sedan, beginning in 2016. Construction will begin this fall.
Currently, the automaker is already in progress with a $75-million expansion project announced in May 2012 to increase capacity from 156,000 to 180,000 units annually.
Subaru of Indiana is the North American subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. At the Lafayette plant SIA manufactures Subaru Legacy, Outback, and Tribeca, and the Toyota Camry under contract with Toyota.
The plant will be expanded by more than 500,000 square feet, and new manufacturing equipment will be installed, including in the paint and assembly areas. The production flow will be altered, too, the company said, as it adds capacity for about 100,000 vehicles/year.
At the close of its FY 2012 on March 31, 2013, SIA had produced a record 271,583 vehicles.
The automaker 724,500 vehicles worldwide last fiscal year, up 13% from FY2011, and 357,600 of those were sold in the U.S.
SIA has more than 3,600 employees, and the company indicated the expansion would bring that total up to about 4,500.
Construction on the planned expansion is slated to begin this fall, to be completed by the end of 2016. Subaru said record sales and increased North American market share prompted its expansion plans.
Currently, the Impreza is built at two Subaru plants in Japan.
