According to a Reuters report, on March 5, Fuji Heavy Industries, the parent company of Subaru Automobile, stated that it has not updated its application with Chery Automobile to establish a joint venture subsidiary.

Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, president of Subaru/Fuji Heavy Industries, disclosed that he is not optimistic about the Chinese market, he is facing severe difficulties in joint venture projects in China, and the plan to build a plant is likely to be readjusted. Although it is speculated that the localization of Subaru will be overshadowed by the outside world, Ji Yongtai also denied that it would abandon its plans to build factories in China and expressed that it "hopes to look for all possibilities and find ways to achieve its goals."

Last year, Subaru expressed its intention to establish a joint venture with Chery Automobile in China. In May, Fuji Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. announced that it had signed a framework agreement with Chery. It is reported that the two sides agreed to jointly invest 2.4 billion yuan in building factories in Dalian to produce Subaru models. In an interview in early October, Ji Yongtai pointed out that the company plans to start production in China before 2016.

However, since 2011, the Chinese government has gradually raised the threshold for local production of overseas automakers, canceled the preferential policies for foreign investment in the auto industry, and has had an invisible adverse effect on Subaru's domestic production. According to another source, 16.5% of Fuji Heavy Industry is held by Toyota and is regarded as a subsidiary of Toyota. According to Chinese law, any overseas car company can only have two joint venture companies in China, and thus it becomes a barrier to domestic production in Subaru.