Subaru plans production of new crossover in Lafayette

Subaru announced Monday it will produce a new three-row crossover vehicle in Lafayette.

The new vehicle, which has not been named, will be produced at Subaru’s Lafayette facility and replace the Tribeca, which is being retired.

Production of the new vehicle will begin in 2018.

“We are delighted to be bringing even more Subaru manufacturing to the U.S.,” said Tom Easterday, executive vice president, secretary and chief legal officer of Subaru of Indiana Automotive. “The new model will also result in increased investment at SIA and at several of our suppliers across the country.”

The new vehicle will be larger than the Tribeca and will be capable of containing a full third row. It will be one of four vehicles produced by Subaru in the United States; the other three are the Legacy, Outback and Impreza, whose production will begin in Indiana in late 2016.

Subaru production in Indiana is projected to be approximately 228,000 units in 2015. The facility’s annual capacity is scheduled to grow to 394,000 when the Impreza begins production.

The news follows an announcement in September that Subaru would expand its workforce in Lafayette by 1,200 people, the largest increase in the state’s automotive workforce since Honda opened its Greensburg facility in 2008. The company also is investing $140 million in Subaru of Indiana Automotive.

It's unclear how many jobs or the size of investment that will stem from the production of the three-row crossover. That information likely won't be available until 2017, Easterday said.

Jack Nerad, an executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book, said Subaru’s relationship with Indiana is strong, and the announcement about the three-row crossover is another example of that.

“Certainly they could produce in Japan. That’s a no-brainer. They could produce in Canada, and Mexico is drawing a lot of interest these days from car companies,” he said. “Frankly, there is a lot of underutilized or shuttered plants in states, particularly in the North.

“The fact that they’re going to build in Indiana shows the positivity of the climate there.”

Subaru has had banner sales for seven years. It expects to triple its sales since 2007 by the end of this year, with more than 550,000 sales.

Other recent Indiana investments by automakers include a $1.2 billion expansion earlier this year of General Motors Co.’s pickup truck assembly plant in Fort Wayne, a $40 million increase at Honda’s in 2012 and a $100 million investment by Toyota for its Princeton operation last year.

Call Star reporter Kris Turner at (317) 444-6047. Follow him on Twitter: @krisnturner.