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Subaru posts 15.7% rise in fill-year operating profit

TOKYO — Subaru on Monday posted a 15.7% rise in annual operating profit in the fiscal year that ended in March as it recovered from a raft of product recalls last year, but warned that sales of its cars would take a hit from the coronavirus outbreak. Profit rose to 210.3 billion yen ($1.96 billion) for the year just ended, from 181.7 billion yen a year earlier under international financial reporting standards. It exceeded a consensus estimate of 204.7 billion yen profit drawn from 17 analysts polled by Refinitiv. Global automakers are struggling to recover from the coronavirus, which has pummeled car sales as shelter-in-place orders in many countries clobbered car demand, while plant workers had been left unable to commute to work. Though Subaru and its rivals have begun to restart vehicle factories, anaemic demand, supply chain disruption and social distancing measures at factories are expected to limit output in the coming months. "We saw a limited impact of the coronavirus on our results for the year just ended," Chief Executive Tomomi Nakamura told a teleconference. "But although we have resumed production this month, we are only operating one shift in Japan, and the pace of U.S. output has slowed significantly ... we see many uncertainties related to the virus." As a result, the maker of the Outback and Forester SUV crossovers declined to give an earnings forecast for the current business year, while it slashed its year-end dividend for the year just ended by 61% to 28 yen per share. Some analysts believe industry-wide global auto sales could slump by a third this year and that any recovery will be slow and patchy as job losses and reduced incomes weigh on consumer spending. Subaru, which earns two-thirds of its vehicle sales from the United States, acknowledged that it may take a hit in the coming months as its biggest market struggles get the coronavirus pandemic under control. The automaker saw a 3% rise in global vehicle sales in the year to March to 1.03 million units, bouncing back from last year, when a defective steering component and measures to improve inspection tests had stopped output for two weeks at its sole assembly plant in Japan. The process to restart its U.S. plants would take time, Subaru said, and it expects to produce only around 5,000 units this month, a fraction of last year's 40,000. The virus would result in a global production hit of around 150,000 units, it added.

Catch the rally bug in one easy step at Wales Rally GB

You should go watch a rally. Yes, you. And by "a rally," I mean pretty much anything that could be considered a rally. Is there a grassroots rallycross event near you featuring some $500 beater Subarus mucking about in a field? Go to that. Or a full-blown WRC event. Set your coffeemaker to kick out some extra-potent brew, because you'll probably have to wake up early and drive for a bit to see something. But trust me, it'll be worth it. In Europe, with hundreds of events concentrated in a relatively small geographical area, in all sorts of environments (snow, forest, dirt, you name it), this is a lot easier. North America is huge. Your TV is closer, your couch is comfortable. That's the challenge for hooking new rally fans in America. So, why get off your tail? I travelled to Wales, the tiny windswept country on the western edge of Great Britain, to find out. First, we stopped by David Higgins' rally school, parked at the top of a sheep-studded ridge in the middle of nowhere. This was a two-part trip. The first bit was a visit to David Higgins' rally school, parked at the top of a sheep-studded ridge in the middle of nowhere. The second part was the main event: watching the headline rally event in the UK – WRC Wales Rally GB – in what amounted to a tropical storm at winter temperatures. Despite the challenges, it was one of those trips that left me smiling the whole time. At the Higgins Rally School, we had a very abbreviated experience, essentially the highlights of a multi-day course condensed into a few short hours. The first was learning how to do J-turns on mud, in an old UK-market Ford Escort ... with right-hand drive, and so, a left-hand manual shift, which made it much harder to nail the technique with the "wrong" hand. Then, it was off for a lap with an instructor in the passenger seat in a rear-drive-converted Subaru Impreza WRX – flying through gravel, mud, within spitting distance of piles of logs. That was exhilarating. Or at least, it was, until the ride-alongs with the pros. Jimmy McRae, a storied driver and father to the late and even more storied Colin McRae, was behind the wheel. The car was an early 1990s Prodrive-built Legacy, a real works car, and it made demonic noises as McRae flew through the woods, mostly sideways.

Subaru introduces special BRZ and WRX STI models in Tokyo

Subaru has given its BRZ and WRX STI models some more of that Subaru Tecnica International feel. A special JDM model of each was presented at the Tokyo Motor Show. The BRZ gets a STI Sport range-topper version, which Subaru says is sharper and more responsive thanks to a stiffer front suspension and new "V-braces", along with STI-tuned Sachs dampers. The 18-inch wheels are bespoke to the model version, and the interior has been given a smarter once-over with two-tone shades. In addition, there is a Cool Grey Khaki edition, which will be limited to 100 units and the lucky buyers will be picked by a lottery. No matter how special the BRZ STI Sport is, the power figures are unchanged from the stock 197 horsepower. The S208, based on the WRX STI, will now be Subaru's high-performance king on offer. Following the S207 unveiled in 2015, the S208 is more powerful and has a lower center of gravity thanks to a carbon roof. The power output is 329 horsepower instead of 323, and the STI-enhanced parts include what Subaru calls a DampMatic II front suspension and active torque vectoring both front and rear. Wheels are BBS-built in 19-inch size, brakes are Brembo. There will only be 450 S208 models made, and they will be Japan-only; also on offer is a Nurburgring-themed NBR Challenge Package in 350 units. The editions will be separated by color options: the regular S208 is available in blue or white, and the NBR can be had in the pictured Cool Grey Khaki as well. Related Video: