What was Subaru called?
Subaru's corporate name was Fuji Heavy Industries, which was renamed Subaru Corporation in 2017; the Subaru brand name comes from the Japanese name for the Pleiades star cluster.
Origins of the Subaru brand name
The word Subaru is the Japanese term for the Pleiades star cluster, a group of stars that appears in the company’s logo as six shining points. This astronomical connection became the public face of the carmaker in Japan and overseas, linking the brand to a sense of unity and precision.
- Subaru is the Japanese name for the Pleiades star cluster, which appears as the six-star emblem in the company logo.
- The Subaru brand has been used for the automaker’s passenger cars since the 1950s, helping to unify Japan’s early automotive efforts under a single identity.
- The logo and name emphasize a regional and cultural tie, as well as a distinctive visual mark for marketing worldwide.
These points illustrate how the brand name SubarU ties astronomy, language, and branding into a single corporate identity.
Corporate naming history
The company behind Subaru’s cars began as Fuji Heavy Industries. In 2017, the parent company rebranded itself as Subaru Corporation to align with the global recognition of the Subaru car brand.
Key milestones in naming
The following timeline highlights how the Subaru naming evolved over time in its corporate and brand contexts:
- 1953: Fuji Heavy Industries is formed by merging several engineering firms to focus on aerospace and later automobiles.
- 1954: The Subaru automobile brand is established, beginning a legacy that would carry the name globally.
- 2017: Fuji Heavy Industries renames itself to Subaru Corporation, signaling closer alignment with the Subaru automotive brand.
In summary, Subaru as a brand and Subaru as a company name intersect but refer to different aspects of the same corporate family: a car brand that uses the Pleiades-inspired name, and a corporate entity that adopted the Subaru Corporation title to reflect its flagship identity.
Subaru today
Today, Subaru remains a global automobile brand under the corporate umbrella of Subaru Corporation, with Subaru of America and other regional branches continuing to market and support vehicles worldwide. The name continues to evoke the star cluster imagery that has been central to Subaru’s branding for decades.
Summary
Subaru’s name has multiple layers: it is the Japanese name for the Pleiades cluster and the emblem of the brand, and the corporate entity behind the cars was once called Fuji Heavy Industries before becoming Subaru Corporation in 2017. The brand identity has endured through this corporate evolution, maintaining a consistent link between the stars and the cars people drive.
