Wednesday’s unconfirmed reports have Toyota nearly doubling its stake in Fuji Heavy Industries, which owns and manufactures Subaru vehicles. In 2005, Toyota acquired 8.7 percent of FHI, and it is expected to increase that stake to 17 percent shortly. The move would infuse FHI with about $275 million in cash that would be partly spent on developing new models. “Nothing has been decided,” said Shinichi Murata, FHI’s spokesperson in Japan, while Toyota declined to comment.
The news comes at a good time for Subaru , with analysts calling it a saving move by Toyota , according to Bloomberg. Subaru sales in the U.S. dropped by 4.9 percent in the first quarter of 2008, along with a 5 percent fall in Japan.
Subaru assembles Toyota’s Camry sedan in its Lafayette, IN plant, and the two companies have been reported to work together on developing Subaru hybrid and diesel vehicles, as well as a new Toyota sports car.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange saw FHI shares increase by 6.6 percent after the news broke.
