Purdue University Expands Relationship With Subaru Of Indiana With Acquisition Of Sia-built Vehicles

LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Sept. 29, 2016 - PRLog -- Purdue University took possession of 30 Subaru vehicles today, demonstrating the strong relationship between Purdue and neighboring Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. (SIA). This example of partnership is just the latest in the nearly 30-year history between the two organizations.

"SIA is honored to have a great relationship with Purdue University," said Tom Easterday, Senior Executive Vice President. "Choosing SIA-built Subaru vehicles for their fleet truly demonstrates Purdue's commitment to support our community and is recognition of the excellent quality built into every Subaru by SIA Associates."

The 30 all-wheel-drive Subaru vehicles are the first of 78 vehicles being replaced at Purdue University by Enterprise Fleet Management, an affiliate of Enterprise Holdings Inc., which owns the Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand. Enterprise Rent-A-Car currently supplements the Purdue rental vehicle fleet and provides vehicle rental at the Purdue Airport.

Rob Wynkoop, Purdue's director of service enterprises, said the three-year lease through Enterprise will replace university fleet vehicles that have significant mileage and are used as daily rentals or long-term rentals to campus departments. He said the lease arrangement frees up approximately $1 million in up-front costs while also offering unlimited mileage. At the end of the lease, Purdue has the option to extend or acquire new vehicles. Wynkoop said additional SIA vehicles could be added to the Purdue fleet at a later date.

"This lease agreement allows us to free up capital for other university needs and provides us with options while extending our partnership with a local manufacturer as well as with Enterprise, a well-known and respected name in the transportation industry – both here in Indiana and throughout North America," Wynkoop said.

SIA employs over 5,400 Associates at its Lafayette manufacturing facility. All Associates are eligible to earn an Associate's or Bachelor's Degree from Purdue Polytechnic Institute, which is on the SIA campus, with 100% of the tuition paid for by SIA.

"The partnership with SIA has been really amazing," said Steve Shelby, director of Purdue Polytechnic Lafayette. "This is a real-life example of how corporations and universities can come together to build a stronger community."

"Like Purdue, it is important to Enterprise Fleet Management to support the local community," said Director of Enterprise Fleet Management in Indiana Tara Talley. "We use Indiana dealers, repair shops and vendors to source and maintain the fleets we manage. Our ability to leverage Enterprise's buying power combined with the decentralization of our operations puts us in a unique position to give our customers the best possible prices, while still driving business to service providers in local communities."

Purdue University is leasing the 30 Subaru Legacy vehicles through Enterprise Fleet Management. The vehicles were built at SIA, which also builds the Subaru Outback and will begin producing the Subaru Impreza later this year.