• Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Thursday, May 20, 2010 10:49 AM

By maintaining the quirky persona of its brand and keeping prices low, Subaru has notched record sales and market share as other automakers have stumbled in the recession, Jeff Green and Alan Ohnsman report. It has been the fastest-growing mass-market car brand in the U.S. for the past two years and was the 11th-most popular U.S. auto brand in 2009, up from No. 19 in 2008.

The automaker's marketing centers on cementing its connection to customers, who are an eco-friendly bunch who value the freedom to go where they want, when they want. They are "customers who are not buying things, but experiences," says CMO Tim Mahoney.

"The 'share the love' campaign has been effective," says Alexander Edwards, president of market researcher Strategic Vision. "They play up fun, the adventure you can have in a Subaru." But they also endear themselves to their frugal-minded customers by cutting about $1,200 from the $26,342 average price of its cars in 2007. Still, because of consumer loyalty, Subaru is able to offer the lowest level of incentives of any major car brand.

Read the whole story at Bloomberg BusinessWeek »