Subaru of America has promoted one of its regional vice presidents to lead its U.S. sales operations effective April 1, succeeding Jeff Walters, who will transition to the brand's top U.S. role. Walters will become president and COO as regional CEO Tom Doll steps down from day-to-day management and assumes an advisory role.
Troy Poston, 54, eastern regional vice president of Subaru's U.S. sales operations, is a 26-year veteran of the brand's field and regional sales operations. He'll take over the job from Walters, 56, who has headed Subaru's U.S. sales operations since 2014 and was named to the brand's top U.S. role March 3.
"Troy brings a passion for our customers, excellent relationships with our Subaru retailers and a deep knowledge of the Subaru sales network," Doll said in a written statement. "His leadership will be critical moving forward as we look to grow our sales and move past the production constraints of the past few years and begin the launch of a new and more electrified product line-up."
Poston assumes his new role as Subaru works to recover from the industrywide production problems caused by COVID-19 and the global semiconductor shortage. In 2020, the automaker fell short of achieving its 12th-straight year of record U.S. sales when deliveries dropped 13 percent. Last year, U.S. volume dipped 4.7 percent to 556,581 vehicles, far off the all-time high of 700,117 achieved in 2019 before COVID-19 gripped the world.
With supply coming back online, Subaru's U.S. sales rose 1.3 percent to 90,163 vehicles in 2023 through February.
Subaru plans to step up its electrification strategy in the U.S., which includes several battery-powered EVs by 2025. The EV rollout will lean on Subaru's partnership with Toyota Motor Corp. and be further amplified by the expansion of the company's hybrid vehicles, executives have said.
Hans Greimel contributed to this report.
