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Few Details On Subaru Plan To Produce New Vehicle In Lafayette

Subaru of Indiana Automotive

A fourth vehicle model is set to be manufactured at Lafayette’s Subaru of Indiana Automotive plant beginning in 2018.

SIA officials announced Monday that a new larger three-row crossover model will be added to the production line, effectively replacing the Tribeca, which is no longer manufactured.

Beyond that, little is known about the unnamed vehicle, including how the plant will expand to increase production or how many jobs might be created.

SIA Executive Vice President Tom Easterday says the vehicle is in the early development phase by parent company Fuji Heavy Industries in Japan.

He says plant engineers can’t complete a manufacturing design study until the new specs are finalized.  

"It will probably be another year to a year-and-a-half before we'll have some final details on the exact amount of investment that will be necessary most likely in 2017 to enable us to build the vehicle in 2018," Easterday says.

He says any plant modifications or new jobs linked to the new crossover also will depend on the completion of a $140-million plant expansion and the addition of 1,200 employees SIA announced in September.

SIA is expected to manufacture about 313,000 vehicles this year, with production increasing to 394,000 vehicles when the Impreza comes online.

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