Subaru
Subaru is part of the Fuji Heavy Industries Limited of Japan group (FHI). With a background in manufacturing, FHI was originally born from the Nakajima Aircraft Company Ltd, which was originally established as the Aircraft Research Laboratory established in 1917 by Chikuhei Nakajima (1884-1949).
In 1945, as the World War II drew to an end, aircraft production came to a halt. The Company made reborn as the Fuji Sangyo Co., Ltd., and initially the Company worked on developing motor scooters and bus bodies. This then turned into the production of motor vehicles.
In 1954, FHI announced its prototype passenger car called the P-1. The P-1, named the Subaru 1500 the following year, used the first Japanese-manufactured monocoque body. This vehicle proved to be of great value in the later developments of the Subaru 360 and Subaru 1000.