After one year since I took office as a president, with the drafting of a new medium-term business plan running from fiscal 2008, FHI is making a bold new start towards the "customers come first" mindset essential to providing a distinctive Subaru experience. Then FHI will build a solid earnings base over the four-year period to fiscal 2011, along with the steady enactment of business strategies aimed at supporting further growth in the future.

We have positioned the push "to provide a distinctive Subaru experience" as our first task in meeting this objective. As we continue working to further harmonize our operations with the natural environment, this will require that we be in step with our customers' expectations, including with the services that we offer. That means providing distinctly Subaru products that offer more comfort and safe driving performance, all while continuing to push ahead with technological development. I believe that this is precisely the kind of distinctive value proposition that Subaru is uniquely positioned to realize.

On the marketing front, we will advance a strategy that views sales from a global perspective. In terms of expanding our earnings base, we have identified overseas markets as the main source for growth, among which we consider the United States to be our highest priority market.
Another major point in the new plan is our business alliance with Toyota. Over the long term, our collaboration with Toyota will be crucial to enhancing the competitiveness of both companies as they are called on as automakers to make more substantial upfront investments with respect to the environment, safety and other areas. That said, even as we proceed with building ties in production, development technology and on other fronts, we will be more selective and focused regarding fields where Subaru has advantages, and will remain committed to cultivating the distinctiveness of the Subaru brand.

I intend to take every opportunity to entrench what I consider to be a needed reform in our corporate mindset—the idea that "customers come first." All of our corporate activities should revolve around the question of "What else can we do for our customers?" This question should be present not only when in direct contact with customers through sales, but in everything from R&D, procurement, manufacturing and quality, to sales after-service. On top of this, we should be producing cars that will win support from our customers. The new Impreza launched this year is in many ways the first product that embodies the successful reforms we have made so far, and I invite you to expect good things from it.
As always, your encouragement and understanding will be vital to our future success.

Ikuo Mori
President and CEO