Subaru celebrates six million vehicles made in Indiana
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As Subaru tweaks its production scheme, the Japanese automaker celebrated a major milestone last week with it’s six millionth Subaru car made at the Subaru of Indiana Automotive plant in Lafayette.
The company said in a release the vehicle to achieve the milestone was a blue Subaru Legacy that rolled off the production line early Wednesday morning.
“This milestone is a powerful reminder of how far we’ve come over the past 38 years,” said Scott Brand, president and chief operating officer of SIA, in a written statement. “I’m incredibly proud of our associates and the consistent dedication they bring to exceeding our customers’ expectations for safe, high-quality vehicles.”
Lafayette has a long legacy of building the Subaru Legacy as the sedan was the first model produced at SIA in 1989. However, the model will be discontinued at the end of 2025 along with the Outback.
In 2024, Subaru announced it will switch to making the Forester and Forester hybrid models at SIA. The company says the shift reflects changing consumer preferences for SUVs.
SIA Vice President Rachel Hazaray, who is also the company’s general counsel, told WLFI-TV last May that the company plans to add about 100 jobs with the addition of the Forester models.
The move also comes as Subaru Canada announced it will drastically reduce the number of cars imported from the U.S. in response to American trade policy.
The 6 million-square-foot Lafayette plant, which employs more than 6,000 people, also produces the Ascent and Crosstrek models. Subaru says SIA is the only production facility the company has outside of Japan and it manufactures about half of all Subarus sold in North America.
A few years ago, the plant celebrated its 7th million vehicle made—regardless of brand. This week’s announcement marks six million Subaru vehicles specifically.