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No worries about U.S. demand for now, Japan's Subaru says

Published 08/03/2022, 04:17 AM
Updated 08/03/2022, 04:20 AM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The 2020 Subaru Outback is revealed at the 2019 New York International Auto Show in New York City, New York, U.S, April 17, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The 2020 Subaru Outback is revealed at the 2019 New York International Auto Show in New York City, New York, U.S, April 17, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

By Satoshi Sugiyama

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Subaru (OTC:FUJHY) Corp expects strong demand from U.S. car buyers to continue, a senior executive said on Wednesday, amid growing concern about a slowdown in the world's largest economy.

Chief Financial Officer Katsuyuki Mizuma's confidence highlights the split between consumers struggling to afford basic necessities amid record inflation and those with the resources to continue spending on bigger-ticket purchases.

Last week Walmart (NYSE:WMT) sounded a clear warning about the health of the U.S. economy as its customers focus their spending on food and other essentials but skip items like clothes and sporting goods.

Subaru has a backorder of about 50,000 vehicles and retailers only have between 4 to 5 days worth of stock in the U.S., Mizuma said.

The automaker sold 19% more cars in the U.S. for the first quarter year-on-year, the biggest growth of any region. It expects U.S. sales to grow by around a quarter this fiscal year, to 636,000.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The 2020 Subaru Outback is revealed at the 2019 New York International Auto Show in New York City, New York, U.S, April 17, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

The maker of the Forester sports utility vehicle is not the only Japanese automaker to be relatively bullish on North America demand lately.

Mitsubishi Motors (OTC:MMTOF) said it saw robust demand for new cars for the three months to June 30 and could not keep up with supply. Nissan (OTC:NSANY) Motor Co was also confident about its outlook in the United States and said the increase in sales volumes would offset negative factors such as inflation or higher interest rates.

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