Fuji Heavy Industries, the maker of Subaru cars, forecasted a 57% increase in quarterly profits, as sales in the United States grew while costs were reduced.

Fuji Heavy also said that they will boost production at its Indiana plant from 100,000 to 131,000 units. The plant builds Subarus as well as Toyota Camrys, as Toyota owns a 16.5 stake in Fuji Heavy.

Speaking to Reuters, Chief Executive Ikuo Mori said that Subaru may need to take further steps if it keeps growing in the United States. “It’s not that simple to add capacity, but we may have to consider some steps if sales keep growing at this pace,” he said, adding suggesting that the India plant has the potential to be expanded.

Fuji Heavy is on track for an annual profit of $474 million, with shares up 15% since last year, making it one of the best performing auto industry companies in Japan.

[Source: Reuters]

Just days after President Obama proposed new legislation that would see fleet fuel-economy standards rise considerably in the U.S., Subaru has said it will explore the possibility of bringing a hybrid to market in order to reduce its fleet average.

Ikuo Mori, the CEO of Subaru’s parent company Fuji Heavy Industries told a group of reporters that the idea was being looked in to and that a vehicle could be brought to market by 2012.

The hybrid model would use a Toyota-sourced gasoline-electric powerplant, as Toyota is the largest shareholder of Fuji.

Mori also said that Subaru is currently working to bring a diesel to market at around the same time. He did not comment on the future of Subaru’s electric vehicles, including the G4e (pictured above), which debuted at the Canadian International Auto Show this past February.

If the proposed legislation in the U.S. is approved it would see fleet standards rise to 35.5, mpg by 2016. Currently automakers are facing an 8 percent increase in fuel-economy standards that would see fleet averages for light-vehicles (cars and trucks) at 27.3 mpg for 2011. Cars would have to achieve a fleet average of 30.2 mpg by that date.

[Source: Bloomberg]