Subaru Records Best Year in History

CHERRY HILL, N.J., Jan. 3 -- Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA), a pioneer of crossover all-wheel drive vehicles designed for the active lifestyle, announced today its best total sales result on record, posting a year-end total of 185,944 units. The previous record of 183,242 units was established in 1986. The final 2001 tally represents an 8% increase from 2000 totals for the comparable period.``Our year-end result is a remarkable milestone for the Subaru brand and a shining example of the Beauty of All-Wheel Drive,'' said Subaru Executive Vice President, Fred Adcock. ``Most importantly, we achieved our success by remaining true to our core philosophy of offering 100% all-wheel drive vehicles designed to complement the active lifestyle. Everyone at SOA and our retail partners should be very proud of this tremendous achievement.''Subaru Legacy led the 2001 totals with 95,291 units posted. Subaru Outback accounted for 70,625 units, outpacing last year's total of 68,902 for the same period. Subaru Impreza established a new sales record of 35,612 total units, up a remarkable 85% from the previous year. Impreza sales were bolstered by the successful launch of the rally-bred 2002 Impreza WRX, accounting for 18,060 unit sales since its March introduction. Subaru Forester recorded a total of 55,041 total unit sales.Subaru recorded a sales total of 15,926 units for the month of December, an increase of 8% from 2000 figures for the same period. Subaru Legacy led the volume for the month with 8,005 units, while Subaru Outback accounted for 5,958 units. Subaru Forester recorded sales of 4,569 units in December, up 2%. Subaru Impreza continued its remarkable sales success with sales of 3,352 units, up 128% from December 2000.About Subaru of America, Inc.Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Subaru pioneered the concept of the passenger car/sport-utility vehicle with the introduction of the Subaru Outback, the ``World's First Sport Utility Wagon.''Headquartered near Philadelphia, the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of nearly 600 dealers across the United States. Over the past nine years, the company has achieved year-over-year retail sales increases thanks to its popular line of car-based sport utility vehicles, and is among the fastest growing brands in the automobile industry.