Subaru Celebrates 70th Anniversary

Tokyo, July 14, 2023 – Subaru Corporation is pleased to announce that the company will celebrate its 70th anniversary on July 15 this year.

Subaru Corporation traces its roots back to the Aircraft Research Laboratory established in 1917, which later became Nakajima Aircraft Co. Ltd. After a series of reorganizations, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. was established on July 15, 1953, which was later renamed to its current name, Subaru Corporation, on April 1, 2017.

Since its founding, the company has expanded into a variety of businesses - automotive as its primary business, along with aerospace, industrial products, eco-technologies, bus manufacturing, and prefabricated housing businesses. Today, automotive and aerospace are the two pillars of the company's business.

In the automotive business, the company introduced its first vehicle in 1958, the Subaru 360, a minicar designed to fulfill the Japanese government's concept of a “people's car.” Since then, Subaru has continued to deliver distinctive technologies and products such as the Leone, Japan's first mass-produced all-wheel drive (AWD) vehicle; the Legacy, which led the station wagon boom; the EyeSight advanced driver-assist system; and the Subaru BRZ sports car and Solterra battery-electric SUV, both co-developed with Toyota Motor Corporation, bringing new value to customers in response to, and sometimes ahead of, the times.

Over the years, Subaru has received strong support from customers around the world, marking cumulative AWD production of 20 million units in 2021 and cumulative global sales of 5 million EyeSight-equipped Subaru vehicles in 2022.

In the aerospace business, since the first flight of Japan's first jet plane, the T-1, in 1958, the company has been enhancing its technologies by participating in domestic aircraft development programs and international joint development programs. Subaru will continue to grow with three core businesses: defense programs, commercial programs such as the Boeing 787, and helicopter programs such as the UH-2.

Under the new management team that took office in June this year, the Subaru Group will further accelerate its efforts as one team to respond to this era of significant changes in the automotive industry.

With our products and value propositions, Subaru will continue to provide “Enjoyment and Peace of Mind” through a variety of efforts to enrich people’s hearts and lives by staying close to our customers and society. With the goal of “Delivering Happiness” to people, society, and even the earth, Subaru will strive for the sustainable growth of the Subaru Group and the realization of an enjoyable and sustainable society. 

Brief history of Subaru Corporation:

1917:  Chikuhei Nakajima establishes the Aircraft Research Laboratory.

1918:  The Aircraft Research Laboratory is renamed Nakajima Aircraft Factory (later incorporated as Nakajima Aircraft Co., Ltd. in 1931).

1945:  Nakajima Aircraft Co., Ltd. is reorganized as Fuji Sangyo Co., Ltd. and shifts from aircraft manufacturing to the production of civilian goods.

1950:  In accordance with the Company Reorganization Act, Fuji Sangyo Co., Ltd. is divided into 12 companies, including Fuji Kogyo, Fuji Jidosha Kogyo, and Utsunomiya Sharyo.

1953:  Five of the 12 companies, including Fuji Kogyo, contribute capital to establish Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (Fuji Heavy Industries later acquires and merges with the five companies in 1955).

2017:  Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. is renamed Subaru Corporation.

Origin of the name Subaru:

Subaru is the Japanese name for the Pleiades star cluster in the constellation of Taurus, also called "Mutsuraboshi" (Six Stars) in Japan.

With the history that Fuji Heavy Industry was founded with capital contributions from five companies with roots in Nakajima Aircraft, and later acquired and merged with these five companies, the company adopted the name Subaru for its vehicles to symbolize the merger and unity of the six companies.

Subaru was the first brand to use a Japanese name for its vehicles.