SubaruFactsIndependent engineering archive

1961 origin · 2012 manufacturing transition · Global model history

Sambar

The working Subaru: a truck and van name that survived the end of Subaru minicar manufacturing. Its history connects an anniversary in rally blue with a factory preparing to build sports cars.

Early Sambar Light Van in a museum, between other historic small cars
Photo: 先従隗始, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Scope

Japanese kei-commercial lineage. Subaru-built production and later Daihatsu OEM vehicles must be distinguished.

Reading the record

Specifications and availability vary by market and model year. Follow the cited scope for each generation and configuration.

Chassis and generation ledger

The researched eras

  1. 01

    Subaru-built →

    Lineage overview, not a claim that specifications stayed unchanged for fifty years. Subaru reported about 3.64 million Sambar produced through June 2011 and planned 1,000 WR BLUE LIMITED trucks and vans combined; neither figure is a completed global build ledger.

    Subaru-reported Sambar timeline: truck introduced 1961; about 3.64 million through June 2011; Subaru-built production ended at Gunma February 29, 2012; Daihatsu OEM minicar marketing continued. 7,968,000 covers nine Subaru minicar models over 54 years, not Sambar alone.
    Sambar · Subaru-built era and OEM transition. Subaru marked the truck's 1961 launch in 2011 and reported about 3.64 million Sambar produced through June 2011. Its 2012 farewell separately reports nine minicar models, not a Sambar total. Original evidence diagram by SubaruFacts. Sources: Sambar WR BLUE LIMITED fiftieth anniversary · End of Subaru mini vehicle production in Japan
    Japan-market 2011 Sambar WR BLUE LIMITED: planned 1,000 trucks and vans combined; 660 cc four-cylinder SOHC class; WR Blue Mica; black seats with yellow stitching. Exact displacement, power, torque, and completed production are not established.
    2011 Sambar WR BLUE LIMITED · edition scope. The Japan-market anniversary release states a combined plan of 1,000, WR Blue Mica, and a 660 cc four-cylinder SOHC class. Exact displacement, output, and completed builds remain unstated. Original evidence diagram by SubaruFacts. Sources: Sambar WR BLUE LIMITED fiftieth anniversary · Subaru Sambar series WR BLUE LIMITED special-edition press information
    1961–February 2012
  2. 02

    OEM transition →

    Subaru announced continued Daihatsu-supplied minicar marketing after its own production ended.

    2012

Follow the evidence

Sambar · JapanThe little truck left. The name stayed.A factory farewell and a surviving nameplate are different endings.

Follow the evidence

Sources for this page

  1. Sambar WR BLUE LIMITED fiftieth anniversary

    1961 origin; about 3.64 million Sambar produced through June 2011. Planned edition limit 1,000 across trucks AND vans. WR Blue Mica, black seats/yellow stitching. Price table distinguishes selective manual 4WD from viscous full-time automatic 4WD; not 1,000 of each body.

    Fuji Heavy Industries / Subaru Corporation · accessed 2026-10-07
  2. End of Subaru mini vehicle production in Japan

    Sambar production ended at Gunma Main Plant on 29 February 2012. 7,968,000 is nine Subaru minicar models over 54 years, not Sambar alone. BRZ/86 production scheduled for March, Impreza by March 2013. OEM minicar marketing from Daihatsu continued. URL date differs from release dateline.

    Fuji Heavy Industries / Subaru Corporation · accessed 2026-10-07