May 31, 2011 , Cherry Hill, N.J. -

Subaru of America Sales Rise Nearly 8% Year-to-Date 

- Subaru Outback and Legacy Record Best May Ever Despite Inventory Limitations  

Subaru of America, Inc. today announced a nearly 8% year-to-date sales increase, with 20,036 units sold in May 2011 – resulting in total YTD sales of 112,255. However, while Subaru Legacy and Outback models experienced year-over-year growth, sales of Forester, Impreza and Tribeca decreased due to inventory limitations.

"While we have had a very strong start to 2011, and demand for our products in dealerships remains at record levels, we are now experiencing a slowdown in deliveries following the disruption to vehicle and parts production in Japan as a result of the March earthquake and tsunami," said Thomas J. Doll, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Subaru of America, Inc. "We expect this to continue in the short term while the production situation in Japan returns to normal. Even allowing for this temporary slowdown in deliveries, we still expect 2011 to be the second best year ever for the Subaru brand in the U.S."

Subaru Legacy sales increased 1 percent and Subaru Outback sales increased nearly 11 percent from May 2010. The Subaru Forester and Impreza saw month-to-date decreases of 35% and 39%, respectively.
 
 
 
Carline
May-11
MTD
May-10
MTD
% Chg
MTD
May-11
YTD
May-10
YTD
% Chg
YTD
 
Forester
5193
7976
-34.9%
31676
35328
-10.3%
 
Impreza
2610
4249
-38.6%
18347
17315
6.0%
 
Legacy
3618
3586
0.9%
17813
15987
11.4%
 
Outback
8431
7630
10.5%
43325
34593
25.2%
 
Tribeca
184
226
-18.6%
1094
1136
-3.7%
 
TOTAL
20036
23667
-15.3%
112255
104359
7.6%
 
 
 
"It was the best May ever for Subaru Legacy and Outback," said Bill Cyphers, senior vice president, sales, Subaru of America, Inc. "Our dealers again did an outstanding job in spite of the short term inventory challenges."

About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information visit www.subaru.com.