Subaru is owned by its shareholders. Subaru Corporation, the Tokyo company behind every Subaru car, is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and its biggest single owner is Toyota Motor Corporation, which held 21.46% of the shares on March 31, 2026, according to Subaru’s investor relations page.
That stake makes Toyota a powerful partner, not a parent. Nobody holds a majority. The other 78.5% or so is spread across trust banks, overseas funds, Japanese companies and individual investors.
Until April 2017 the company was called Fuji Heavy Industries, so older ownership stories use that name.
Who owns Subaru today?
Subaru’s register mixes one strategic holder with a long tail of financial investors. These are the six largest names Subaru disclosed for March 31, 2026.
| Shareholder | Shares held | Stake |
|---|---|---|
| Toyota Motor Corporation | 153.6 million | 21.46% |
| The Master Trust Bank of Japan (trust account) | 106.5 million | 14.88% |
| Custody Bank of Japan (trust account) | 31.7 million | 4.43% |
| State Street Bank and Trust (account 505001) | 13.5 million | 1.88% |
| JP Morgan Securities Japan | 10.9 million | 1.52% |
| Mizuho Bank | 10.1 million | 1.41% |
Source: Subaru Corporation, Major Shareholders (Top 10), as of March 31, 2026. Percentages exclude treasury stock.
By category, Subaru reports that foreign investors held 35.61% of its shares, financial institutions 25.00%, other Japanese companies 24.59% and individuals 9.76%. Toyota’s holding makes up most of that “other Japanese companies” slice on its own.
Is Subaru still owned by Toyota?
No. Toyota has never owned Subaru outright, unlike Lexus, Toyota’s own luxury brand. What changed is how close the two companies got.
They signed a business alliance in 2005. In September 2019, they agreed a new capital alliance under which Toyota would lift its voting rights in Subaru from 16.83% to at least 20%, and Subaru would buy up to ยฅ80 billion of Toyota shares in return, according to the companies’ September 27, 2019 announcement. Toyota crossed 20% on February 6, 2020, Subaru disclosed that day, which made Subaru an equity-method affiliate of Toyota.
Toyota now books its share of Subaru’s profits in its own results, but Subaru keeps its own board and its own president and CEO, Atsushi Osaki.
The reverse stake is tiny. Subaru finished its side of the deal in January 2021 by buying roughly 0.3% of Toyota for about ยฅ70 billion, the Japan Times reported.
Why the Toyota percentage keeps rising
You’ll see 16.5%, 20% and 21% quoted for Toyota’s stake. Each was right at some point. What most explainers miss: Toyota has held exactly 153.6 million Subaru shares since February 2020.
The percentage moved because Subaru shrank the pie. Subaru’s issued share count was 769,175,873 in its 2021 sustainability report and 717,335,273 on March 31, 2026. That’s about 51.8 million fewer shares (6.7%) after buybacks and cancellations. Divide Toyota’s unchanged 153.6 million shares by the 715.8 million shares outstanding (excluding treasury stock) and you get 21.46%.
Toyota’s stake in Subaru, 2005 to 2026
Bars use a 0% to 25% scale. Toyota’s share count hasn’t changed since 2020; Subaru’s buybacks pushed the percentage up. Sources: Toyota and Subaru alliance release (Sept 2019), Subaru disclosures and investor relations data.
Does Subaru use Toyota engines?
Mostly no. Subaru designs and builds its own horizontally opposed “boxer” engines in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, so the answer to “who builds Subaru engines?” is Subaru. Toyota shows up in one sports car, the hybrids and the electric SUVs.
| Subaru model | Toyota link | Who builds it |
|---|---|---|
| BRZ | Twin of the Toyota GR86, using Subaru’s 2.4-liter boxer | Subaru, Gunma, Japan |
| Solterra (EV) | Co-developed with Toyota’s bZ | A Toyota plant |
| Trailseeker (EV) | Co-developed on a modified Toyota e-TNGA platform | Subaru, Yajima plant, Gunma |
| Uncharted (EV) | Co-developed sibling of Toyota’s electric C-HR | A Toyota plant in Japan |
| Forester Hybrid, Crosstrek Hybrid | Subaru 2.5-liter boxer plus a hybrid system developed with Toyota | Subaru (US Forester Hybrid in Indiana since February 2026) |
| Outback, Ascent, Impreza, WRX, gas Forester and Crosstrek | None in the powertrain | Subaru, Japan or Indiana |
Sources: Subaru and Toyota announcements; Electrek (February 2026) and Jiji Press on EV production sites.
Is Subaru a Chinese or Japanese company?
Subaru is Japanese. It’s headquartered in Tokyo, listed in Tokyo, and builds vehicles in two places: its plants in Gunma, Japan, and Subaru of Indiana Automotive in Lafayette, Indiana, which Subaru calls its only manufacturing facility outside Japan.
The Indiana plant assembles the Ascent, Crosstrek and Forester, and it started building the Forester Hybrid in early February 2026, the brand’s first US-built hybrid, per Subaru’s announcement. The Legacy ended production there in September 2025, and Outback production moved to Japan.
Nissan, Honda and Ford don’t appear among Subaru’s ten largest shareholders either. The only other automaker in its ownership history is General Motors, which sold its Fuji Heavy Industries stake in 2005.
What Toyota’s stake means in practice
Our read: just over 20% is a deliberate number. Under Japanese accounting, a voting stake of 20% or more generally signals significant influence, which lets Toyota book a share of Subaru’s profits and lock in joint projects. It stops far short of the 50% that would make Subaru a subsidiary, so Toyota is one powerful voice on the register rather than the boss.
Founders will recognize the pattern: a bigger player buys a minority stake to get close to technology it wants. Our roundup of recently funded startups shows who is writing strategic checks in 2026.
FAQ
Who owns Subaru of America?
Subaru of America is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan, based in Camden, New Jersey. It handles distribution, marketing, sales and service in the US. So whichever US dealer you buy from, the profit flows to the same Tokyo-listed parent and its shareholders, including Toyota with its 21.46%.
Can you buy Subaru stock?
Yes. Subaru Corporation trades on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under securities code 7270, in units of 100 shares, and many US brokers also offer it over the counter. Buying shares makes you a part-owner of the same company Toyota holds 21.46% of, though a retail stake won’t sway any vote.