OTA, Gunma -- The manufacturer of the Subaru automobile, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., officially said goodbye to its last minicar, the Subaru Sambar, ending its 54-year history of light vehicle manufacturing.
The Sambar, the automaker's second major light vehicle model after the Subaru 360, was celebrated in a "line-off" farewell ceremony held at the automaker's Gunma factory in the prefectural city of Ota.
With the ceremony, the company also marked the end of its decades-long minicar production history.
Fuji Heavy Industries produced nearly 3.7 million Sambars since the model was first introduced in 1961. Based on a business partnership with other corporations, however, the maker decided to withdraw from minivehicle production.
"I feel a certain loneliness, but I want to turn a new page in a new era (of automobile manufacturing)," said Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, president of Fuji Heavy Industries.
The company is expected to turn its production lines for light vehicles to sports cars, sources say.
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