Subaru Tribeca, Mazda6 to get the ax?

According to Japanese newspaper Nikkan Kogyo, the Subaru Tribeca SUV and the Mazda6 mid-sized may soon get the ax. The report says that the two vehicles will be discontinued as their manufacturers look for ways to improve the efficiency of U.S. assembly plants.

Subaru will stop r&d of a next-generation Tribeca and end production after the current version. Mazda plans to stop making the Mazda6 at Flat Rock, Mich.

Spokesmen for both companies declined to comment on the report.

So far in 2011, Subaru has sold 910 units of the Tribeca. The model is using up valuable production space at Subaru’s Indiana plant, where the company wants to increase the capacity of the Outback and Legacy.

Meanwhile, one of the biggest reasons Mazda can’t turn a regional operating profit is because of the Mazda6. When the redesigned Mazda6 was launched in mid-2008, Mazda planned on building 100,000 units of the model a year – last year it only build 45,168 units.

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Automotive News