Fuji Heavy Industries and Subaru in the 1980s

Abstract

There is one Japanese automobile manufacturer that has created a totally new marketing image and a new brand, within a period of twelve years. Of all the Japanese manufacturers in the early post-war years (founded in 1953), Fuji Heavy Industries was one with high-technology antecedents. The company can trace its origins back to the second decade of the 20th century, when the company was founded as an aeronautical research laboratory. The parent company Fuji Heavy Industries has always been a technological leader, it is one of the world’s top five producers of general purpose engines, designing and manufacturing engines for a wide variety of uses, including marine leisure craft, road cars, trucks, construction vehicles and equipment. FHI is also an important sub-contractor to the aerospace industry, building components for military and commercial aircraft as well as un-manned aircraft. Active in the Japanese space programme, the company’s technological expertise was used to design and build the Lunar Lander FTB (Flying Test Bed) for the Japanese Space Agency. The company has five main divisions, with total turnover in 1999 of over £8098 m, with more than 80 per cent of turnover (over £7170 m) derived from the automobile division.