TOKYO, Jun 23 (Reuters) - Fuji Heavy Industries , manufacturer of Subaru cars, is planning large-scale dealerships in Japan and the United States along the lines of one it has already opened in Australia, a spokesman said on Sunday.
"We want to set up a sales system appropriate to the premium brand image we are aiming for," the Nihon Keizai Shimbun quoted company director Hideo Wada as saying.
Alongside its large showroom and used-car display area, the Subaru "mega-dealership" in Melbourne, Australia, has a special trial course to allow customers to test drive cars within the grounds, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said.
The dealership's sales target is 200 vehicles per month, about 10 times the amount sold at standard dealerships, the paper said.
If business at the Australian outlet proves successful, the company intends to open similar dealerships in the U.S. and Japan, the Nikkei said.
"The other dealerships will not be exactly the same, but we want them to have the same concept," a spokesman for Fuji Heavy said on Sunday.
The plan is to open three to four such outlets over the next five years in major cities in the U.S. Midwest, where sales of Subaru cars are strong, the paper said. Outlets in Japan are to be considered at a later stage.