Toyota announced in a press release Wednesday morning that it is killing off the Scion brand, which was spun off as separate brand in 2003 in a bid to appeal to younger consumers, but has since come under a dry spell amid stagnating sales. Now starting with the 2017 model year in August, the brand's vehicles will be re-badged under its parent brand's name.
"This isn't a step backward for Scion; it's a leap forward for Toyota," Toyota North America CEO Jim Lentz said in a statement. "Scion has allowed us to fast track ideas that would have been challenging to test through the Toyota network."
Launched as a separate brand in 2003 as an entry point for younger consumers to the Toyota fray, and in that was respect it was highly successful. The average age of its users was 36, the lowest in the automotive industry, and 70 percent of its buyers had never owned a Toyota before.
However, the vehicle marketed towards young people couldn't keep up with the times. Design choices like the cramped iQ mini car or the box-like xB failed to resonate with a newer generation that are growing accustomed to companies like Uber and Google that are driving them towards an era of transportation that can be summoned with an app.
"It just never got traction and it has been on life support for at least five years, if not longer," said Peter De Lorenzo, a former auto marketing executive and editor of Autoextremist.com, in an interview, according to USA Today. "But kudos to Toyota for admitting that it was superfluous and they were wasting a lot of money trying to make the brand survive."
The lack of traction is evident when looking at Scion's sales. Compared to its high point of 173,034 sales in 2006, the youth-oriented car has since stagnated. In 2012 the brand sold 73,507 vehicles, while it sold a mere 56,187 in 2015 - less than the number of Toyota Avalons sold that year, according to Motor Trend.
This doesn't mean its the end of the Scion vehicles themselves however, its just the end of Scion as an independent brand. The C-HR, which was revealed at the Los Angeles Auto Show, as well as the FR-S sports car, iA sedan and iM 5-door hatchback will all become Toyota models. Furthermore, the 1,004 dealerships that sell Scions will continue to provide service to Scion owners.
Similarly, the 22 employees who worked exclusively for Scion, as well as the brand's regional sales representatives, will be given new jobs at Toyota.
