Text: Subaru Europe
Images: Subaru Europe
Read time
ca. 2 minutes
ca. 2 minutes
We all know that Subaru cars are great fun to drive, but what else do you know about the company and its fantastic vehicles?
Subaru logo
Our Japanese name
Subaru was the first automobile brand to use a Japanese word for its name. Subaru means ‘unite’, and it’s also the name of the Taurus constellation (also known as Pleiades by the Ancient Greeks)
Our stars
The stars on our logo represent the Pleiades constellation or the six star group, reflecting that Fuji Heavy Industries (which later became Subaru Corporation) was formed thanks to the capital contributions from five companies that sprang from Nakajima Aircraft (our original company name).
And in case you’re wondering about the story behind the Pleiades constellation, according to the Ancient Greeks, it represents the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione. But why are there only six stars in our logo if there were seven daughters? That’s because only six stars are visible to the naked eye.
Our aircraft history
Aviation has played a major role in shaping our company from our beginnings in 1917 when Fuji Heavy Industries first took flight as The Aircraft Research Laboratory. Later it became the Nakajima Aircraft Company, Japan’s largest aircraft manufacturer at the time.
We are proud of our aircraft heritage that lives on to this day. Subaru Aerospace division’s three plants, spread over 600,000 square meters of land, are involved in the development and production of different aircraft, including the critical centre wing box for Boeing’s 787 and 777 passenger jets.
