Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. (SIA) is an

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

assembly plant in

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...

, which began as Subaru-Isuzu Automotive, Inc., a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...

between

Subaru Corporation is a Japanese multinational corporation and conglomerate primarily involved in both terrestrial and aerospace transportation manufacturing. It is best known for its line of Subaru automobiles. Founded in 1953, the company was formerly named ( ...

and Isuzu Motors Ltd. Today, the plant is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation which produces the Ascent, Impreza, Legacy and Outback models. As Subaru's only manufacturing facility outside of Asia, SIA produces about half of all Subaru vehicles sold in North America.

History

Subaru, then known as Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI), and Isuzu signed a joint venture agreement on May 29, 1986, to form Subaru-Isuzu Automotive and to share production facilities at a new plant in

, between

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. The plant was completed in late 1988 and officially began producing the

Subaru Legacy The is a mid-size car built by Japanese automobile manufacturer Subaru since 1989. The maker's flagship car, it is unique in its class for offering all-wheel drive as a standard feature, and Subaru's traditional boxer engine. The Legacy was sol ...

and Isuzu Pickup on September 11, 1989. While only about 500 cars were finished in the first full month of production, the plant's annual capacity was 240,000 vehicles. ''Ward's Automotive Yearbook 1990'', p. 188 The Indiana state government gave Subaru-Isuzu US$86 million in incentives to locate in the state, after having lost the Diamond-Star manufacturing plant to neighboring Illinois. Subaru also planned to export about 1,000 Indiana-built Legacys per year to Taiwan. After Isuzu sales significantly dwindled, Subaru dissolved their joint agreement. On January 1, 2003, Subaru purchased Isuzu's interest in the venture for one dollar and renamed the facility "Subaru of Indiana Automotive." In addition to producing Subaru vehicles, the company continued to produce the Isuzu Rodeo and Honda Passport

badge-engineered In the automotive industry, rebadging is a form of market segmentation used by automobile manufacturers around the world. To allow for product differentiation without designing or engineering a new model or brand (at high cost or risk), a ma ...

twins, as well as the Isuzu Amigo and Axiom through July 23, 2004. Next, under a contract with Toyota, SIA built the

Camry The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Camry ...

from February 28, 2007, until May 27, 2016, when additional space was needed for increased Subaru production. Over the course of its history, SIA has been recognized for a variety of achievements related to safety, quality and the environment. The company is most recognized for becoming the first auto manufacturer in the United States to achieve zero-landfill status on May 4, 2004. In 2019, SIA celebrated multiple milestones, including its 4 millionth Subaru, 10 years as a zero-landfill facility, 30 years of production, and its 6 millionth vehicle overall. As the popularity of Subaru vehicles has increased in the United States, the plant's production volume has increased as well. For the 2020-21 fiscal year, SIA expected production to increase to 410,000 vehicles. Free guided tours are typically offered on Mondays and Wednesdays, except during its summer and winter shutdowns.

Current manufacture at SIA

(September 11, 1989 – present) *

Subaru Outback The Subaru Outback is an automotive nameplate used by the Japanese automaker Subaru for two different vehicles: a crossover station wagon, the Outback (1994–present, also sold as in some markets), and an Impreza-derived hatchback, the Outback ...

(May 17, 1999 – present) *

Subaru Impreza The is a compact car that has been manufactured by the Japanese automaker Subaru since 1992. It was introduced as a replacement for the Leone, with the predecessor's EA series engines replaced by the new EJ series. It is now in its sixth gene ...

(November 1, 2016 – present) * Subaru Ascent/Evoltis (May 7, 2018 – present)

Past manufacture at SIA

* Isuzu Pickup (September 11, 1989 – 1995) * Isuzu Rodeo (May 15, 1990; July 21, 1997 – July 23, 2004) * Honda Passport (November 16, 1993; July 21, 1997 – 2002) *

Isuzu Amigo Amigo(s) (Portuguese and Spanish for ''male friend'') may refer to: People * Carlos Amigo Vallejo (born 1934), Spanish Roman Catholic archbishop emeritus of Seville Places Facilities * Amigos School, a bilingual primary school in Cambridge, Mas ...

(January 8, 1998 – July 23, 2004) *

Isuzu Axiom The Isuzu Axiom is a mid-size SUV introduced by Isuzu in 2001 for the 2002 model year. The Axiom is derived from the Isuzu Rodeo and was intended to be Isuzu's response to the popularity of car-based SUVs such as the Toyota Highlander, replacin ...

(January 15, 2001 – July 23, 2004) *

Subaru Baja The Subaru Baja is an all-wheel-drive, four passenger, Coupé utility, four-door utility manufactured from 2002 to 2006 by Subaru and marketed for model years 2003 to 2006. The Baja combines the handling and passenger carrying characteristics of a ...

(July 18, 2002 – 2006) *

Subaru Tribeca The Subaru Tribeca is a mid-size crossover SUV made from 2005 to 2014. Released in some markets, including Canada, as the Subaru B9 Tribeca, the car derives its name from the Tribeca neighborhood of New York City. Built on the Subaru Legacy plat ...

(April 4, 2005 – January 2014) *

Toyota Camry The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Camry ...

(February 28, 2007 – May 27, 2016)

References

External links

Subaru of Indiana Automotive official websiteSubaru Corporation official website (English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Subaru Of Indiana Automotive, Inc. Motor vehicle assembly plants in Indiana Isuzu Subaru Toyota factories Lafayette, Indiana