Subaru reveals new global platform

Subaru has today released images of the manufacturer's SGP (Subaru Global Platform), which will support all the next-generation vehicles, beginning with the new Impreza due here before the end of the year.

Developed as an integral component of Subaru's 'Prominence 2020' management plan, which was first revealed in 2014, the SGP will be the basis for further technological advances such as the EyeSight system already available.

"The Subaru Global Platform lifts Subaru's automotive technology to new heights, and marks the next step in the evolution of "Enjoyment and Peace of Mind," the value that Subaru offers to its customers," said Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, president of Fuji Heavy Industries, Subaru's parent company.

"This new platform represents the culmination of the know-how we have developed over many years, and we are confident that it will allow us to produce vehicles that live up to our proud traditions and meet the high expectations customers have of Subaru. We continue to work on designing ever-more attractive vehicles that offer the customer both enjoyment and peace of mind."

The SGP will extend Subaru's R&D and manufacturing capabilities through to 2025, the company says. According to the manufacturer, SGP promises to deliver 'the world's highest levels of safety' and an 'emotionally engaging dynamic feel'. The centre of gravity will be 5mm lower across the board for vehicles built on the new platform.

Straight-line stability, NVH and comfort are all expected to gain from the new architecture, the company indicates, and in due course hybrid-drive vehicles and perhaps even battery/electric vehicles will be developed on this platform.

Crash safety is anticipated to improve in the region of 70 to 100 per cent over the standards achieved by current Subaru platforms. The SGP platform will be compatible with high-tensile-strength steel for 40 per cent improvement in crash-energy absorption. NVH suppression (also improved in the range of 70 per cent) and comfort – ride quality – are both set to gain from the platform's stiffer construction and torsional rigidity.

In R&D terms, the use of a singular platform across multiple models will reduce costs and shorten development times. The increased manufacturing flexibility will allow Subaru's factories in Japan and the USA to engage in 'bridge production' – taking up slack for particular models as required, without a turn-around of months at a time. Both areas of endeavour – development and manufacturing – are high on Subaru's agenda, following a year of supply constraints in 2015 and slowness to reach market with new product.