Photo: Tudor Raiciu
Fuji Heavy Industries, the Japanese multinational corporation that was incorporated in 1953, will be renamed to Subaru Corporation from April 1, 2017. The question is, what made FHI decide to do it?
First thing you need to know is that Fuji Heavy Industries started life after Fuji Kogyo, Fuji Jidosha Kogyo, Tokyo Fuji Sangyo, Omiya Fuji Kogyo, and Utsunomiya Sharyo joined hands in 1953. Since it was incorporated, FHI specialized in three domains: automotive, ground transportation, and aerospace. Of course, Fuji Heavy Industry is best-known for Subaru, Japan’s 7th largest automaker and a brand that carved out an image as a carmaker that goes its own way.
The answer to what made FHI decide to change its name is simple. As per the release attached at the end of the story, “FHI set a corporate vision for 2020 of being a high-quality company that is not big in size but has distinctive strength. To this end, the company is focusing on two initiatives: enhancing the Subaru brand and building a strong business structure.”
Here's another quote that is certain to grab your attention: “As FHI recognizes reinforcing development resource in the automotive business as a key initiative for accelerating efforts to achieve this goal, the decision has been made to optimize company-wide allocation of management resources.”
After the introduction of the Subaru Global Platform with the advent of the 2017 Subaru Impreza, Fuji Heavy Industries understood that the automotive arm is seriously stepping up its game. Considering how well the brand evolved over the past years in terms of net income, it was bound to happen. Another potential reason for this change of heart and name is what happen to Mitsubishi after the fuel rigging scandal broke out.
After Nissan announced that it was buying 34 percent of Mitsubishi, the peeps at Fuji Heavy Industries stopped for a moment, remembering that Toyota owns 16.5 percent of the parent company of Subaru. To this end, the Board of Directors of Fuji Heavy Industries decided to repurchase its own shares, namely up to 15,000,000 shares or 1.92 percent of the total number of shares issued excluding treasury stock.
The answer to what made FHI decide to change its name is simple. As per the release attached at the end of the story, “FHI set a corporate vision for 2020 of being a high-quality company that is not big in size but has distinctive strength. To this end, the company is focusing on two initiatives: enhancing the Subaru brand and building a strong business structure.”
Here's another quote that is certain to grab your attention: “As FHI recognizes reinforcing development resource in the automotive business as a key initiative for accelerating efforts to achieve this goal, the decision has been made to optimize company-wide allocation of management resources.”
After the introduction of the Subaru Global Platform with the advent of the 2017 Subaru Impreza, Fuji Heavy Industries understood that the automotive arm is seriously stepping up its game. Considering how well the brand evolved over the past years in terms of net income, it was bound to happen. Another potential reason for this change of heart and name is what happen to Mitsubishi after the fuel rigging scandal broke out.
After Nissan announced that it was buying 34 percent of Mitsubishi, the peeps at Fuji Heavy Industries stopped for a moment, remembering that Toyota owns 16.5 percent of the parent company of Subaru. To this end, the Board of Directors of Fuji Heavy Industries decided to repurchase its own shares, namely up to 15,000,000 shares or 1.92 percent of the total number of shares issued excluding treasury stock.
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