Subaru Continues to Break Sales Records and Support Charitable Causes

CHICAGO, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Subaru of America, Inc., coming off a record-breaking 2009, will present checks to the five charities involved in its unique Share the Love Event campaign at 9 a.m. during the Chicago Auto Show on Thursday, February 11, 2010.  

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080325/SUBARULOGO )

Last year, the Share the Love Event campaign helped raise almost $5 million that was donated to charities. The marketing campaign ran from November 21, 2009 – January 4, 2010 with Subaru donating $250 for every new Subaru vehicle sold or leased to the customer's choice of one or more of the following five charities:

• The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
• Meals On Wheels Association of America
• Habitat for Humanity
• National Wildlife Federation® (NWF)
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America

As part of the Share the Love Event, Subaru offices and dealerships nationwide held local events. In the Chicago area, Subaru held an event at Navy Pier during Winter WonderFest partnering with the ASPCA and the National Wildlife Federation. Share the Love helped the Subaru central region, located in Itasca, achieve a record-setting 2009 – up 20-percent over the previous year.

Kicking off 2010, Subaru's central region finished with 2,696 unit sales in January versus 2,252 units sold in January 2009. Locally-based Chicago-area dealers finished January with a 4.5-percent increase over January 2009 also resulting in a record-breaking month for the area.  A total of 776 units were sold versus 745 units sold in January 2009.

About the Charities

For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America have been serving as passionate advocates for young people in our communities. Clubs provide a positive place for kids and teens to find supportive and caring adults who mentor, empower and inspire them to reach their full potential. www.bgca.org

About Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built more than 350,000 houses worldwide, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than 1.75 million people. For more information, visit www.habitat.org and www.habitat.org/ap.

Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) works every day with thousands of local Meals On Wheels programs and hundreds of thousands of volunteers who all share in the mission to end senior hunger. The organization provides the tools and information its programs need to make a difference in the lives of others. It also gives cash grants to local senior meal programs throughout the country to assist in providing meals and other nutrition services. www.mowaa.org

National Wildlife Federation® (NWF) is America's largest conservation organization, inspiring Americans to protect wildlife for our children's future. NWF unites individuals from diverse backgrounds through a grassroots network of 4 million members and supporters, and is joined by 47 affiliated state wildlife organizations. National Wildlife Federation's programs educate and inspire people from all walks of life to protect wildlife and wildlife habitat. NWF focuses their conservation work in three areas: confronting global warming, restoring wildlife habitat and connecting people to nature. www.nwf.org

For more than 142 years, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has been dedicated to rescuing animals from abuse, introducing and enforcing more humane legislation, sharing resources with shelters across the country, and advancing the care of animals through their unparalleled expertise in medicine, behavior, toxicology and forensics. www.aspca.org

About Subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers across the United States.  Subaru boasts the most fuel efficient line-up of all-wheel drive products sold in the market today based on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fuel economy standards.  All Subaru products are manufactured in zero- landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information visit www.subaru.com.

SOURCE Subaru of America, Inc.