Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. (SIA) is an automobile assembly plant in Lafayette, Indiana which began as a joint venture between Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) and Isuzu Motors Ltd. After Isuzu withdrew from the venture, SIA continued to manufacture Subaru models, and later began manufacturing the Toyota Camry.
The plant, which is Fuji Heavy Industry's sole overseas plant,[1] was the subject of the 2005 book "On The Line at Subaru-Isuzu" by Laurie Graham, about plant working conditions. The facility is located at 5500 State Road 38 E. — also known the Bataan Memorial Highway.
Contents |
Subaru and Isuzu incorporated on March 17, 1988 as Subaru Isuzu Automotive, Inc., the plant was completed on December 31, 1988 and began producing the Subaru Legacy and Isuzu P'UP in 1989. The factory was given $98 million in state and local tax incentives when it opened, and these remain in place.
Subaru purchased Isuzu's interest in the venture in 2003 for $1.00 as that company's sales faltered. [2] General Motors divested its stake in FHI in 2005 (part to Toyota, part to open market).
New minority shareholder Toyota Motor Corporation began producing 30,000 to 40,000 Camrys per year at the plant in 2007 to meet excess demand then satisfied by imports from Japan. Most North American-market Camrys are assembled at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky. Production of the Camry at SIA is expected to gradually increase to 100,000 units per year. Camry production at SIA officially began March 9, 2007, with the first Camry built by SIA rolling off the assembly line on April 20, 2007. [3]
As a result of Isuzu's former corporate agreement with Honda, the plant used to produce the Passport, a rebadged Isuzu Rodeo. The production Passport, along with that of the current production of the Camry, means that SIA is the only plant to have produced automobiles from Japan's two largest automakers -- Toyota and Honda.
The factory's highest production volume was 216,198 in 1998, and had employed over 9,000 people since the plant opened. SIA employed 2,813 people as of April 21, 2008. [4]
The plant offers guided tours free of charge on Mondays and Wednesdays except during its summer shutdown.
On September 30, 2009, the factory produced its 3 millionth vehicle, a 2010 Subaru Outback 2.5i in Steel Silver Metallic.[5]
