Subaru counts on brand building and new models to increase sales in China

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai Nov 16)–On November 5th, Subaru announced its brand principle of “All-Around Safety” and the future plans for its new-generation Legacy and refreshed Outback, which among the first batch of new models since the establish of the company’s brand principle.

This year China’s auto market has barely seen any increase, Subaru is also affected. Since last year, Subaru’s sales began falling down to decrease. This company sold 54,557 units in China in the year of 2014, a slightly 2.3% decrease compare with 2013 but an astonishing 30.8% decrease compared with the year before 2013. In the first half of 2015, Subaru’s sales continued to fall with only 24,503 deliveries, a 19.2% decrease compared against the same period of 2014.

This April, executives of the company had revealed that Subaru would lower their sales target in China to 65,000 units this year, an 18.75% decrease compare with the original 80,000 units.

To increase sales, Subaru has already put a lot of effort to complete its sales network and planned to enjoy the supports of 250 dealers by the year of 2017, mainly in tier1 and tier 2 cities in China. But the result is proved to be not so effective.

Analyst believed to increase sales, brand building is what Subaru should focus on, especially when the company’s plan to domestically manufacture some models in China is not an option. So the company’s introduction of All-Around Safety principle, which includes primary safety, active safety, passive safety and pre-collision safety, seems like a smart move.

Subaru is going to see its market share further dwindling unless the company does something immediately. Increasing sales through brand building is much like a long shot. With only 2 months left for 2015, Subaru may have to bet on the introduction of new Legacy and new Outback to save its sales.

To be noted, Subaru’s sales in America has reached to 428,702 units for the first 3 quarters of 2015, accounting half of the company’s global sales and a 14% increase compared against the same period last year.