Subaru, the iconic car brand associated with Kenyan millennial car enthusiasts faces supply disruptions as factories in Japan encounter a shortage of semiconductors.
Reuters reported that Subaru Corp would cut production at Japan’s Yajima plant in Gunma in July due to a global shortage of the semiconductors, a move likely to affect exports from the country.
This is eventually set to reduce the number of used units and spare parts available for import into Kenya.
"It is part of the production adjustment due to shortage of semiconductors," a Subaru spokesperson revealed.
Subaru had in April closed down the factory for 13 days, missing out on the production of 10, 000 cars over the semiconductor shortage.
The Gunma plant builds models including the Outback and Forester, Suzuki Motor Corp is also contemplating a reduction in production next month at Kosai and Sagara plants in Shizuoka, Japan.
This, has however is not specific to Subaru but other vehicle manufacturers such as Suzuki. Mercedes-Benz was last month reported to be hoarding its chips for expensive models and had temporarily shut down factories that produce lower-priced C-Class sedans.
In April, Porsche warned dealers in the US that customers would wait up to three months to get their cars, due to a shortage of chips used to monitor tire pressure.
Kenya imports 80 per cent of its second-hand cars from Japan with the units accounting for 85 per cent of Kenya's car purchases, on an annual import of above 86,000 units.
In Kenya, Subarus owe their popularity to the all-time great Safari Rally winner, Shekhar Mehta who got the franchise to distribute the then little known vehicles in East Africa under ECTA motors.
Slowly, Kenyans began to pay heed to the Subaru Leone - the first Subaru vehicle introduced to the local market- as it was a tough and reliable vehicle capable of handling the Kenyan terrain.
Its symmetrical all-wheel-drive system was its key selling point, as it was the only small passenger car in the market equipped with a four-wheel-drive.
