As partnership with Chery hits the rocks, Subaru still holds hopes for Chinese production

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai October 25) - Despite recent setbacks in its proposed partnership with Chery, signs point to Subaru not having given up its hopes to begin manufacturing vehicles in China. According to a report by the Beijing Morning Post, Subaru President Yasuyuki Yoshinaga pointed out Subaru's interest in establishing a production base in China with an annual production capacity of 150,000 vehicles.

Mr. Yoshinaga also stated that Subaru will be expanding global sales to 900,000 units by 2016. The American market will account for 350,000 of those sales. Subaru will be introducing a variety of new vehicles, with the XV crossover (pictured), BRZ sports car and the manufacturer's first hybrid being among its offerings.

Subaru's parent company Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) signed an agreement with Chery earlier this year, but their proposal was rejected by the National Development and Reform Commission. According to the Policy on Development of Automotive Industry, an automobile manufacturer can only have a maximum of two Chinese joint ventures. Although FHI does not currently have any JVs in the country, Toyota, which has partnerships with both FAW and GAC, has a 16.5 percent stake in the company.

Mazda had avoided this problem by establishing a Chinese sales venture independent from Ford. Whether Subaru and Toyota choose to walk down this road remains to be seen.