Current sales of the American Scion brand are up 40% from 2006 and continuing to decline. At the same time, the brand owned by Toyota does not plan new models. At least not in the next few years. The situation looks bad and we know more.
Toyota introduced the Scion brand to the US in 2003, saying it would be aimed at younger customers. This is successful so far, as the average age of customers is around 32 years old, while for other brands it is up to 49 years old. However, sales of the brand have been similarly low recently. From the beginning of 2013 to August, less than 50,000 vehicles were sold, which is why sales for the whole of this year are estimated at 70,000 units . That's roughly 4,000 fewer vehicles than last year and only 40% of Scion's sales in 2006 . Back then, the brand offered just three models , while now there are five – iQ , xB , xD , tC and FR-S .
Instead of the manufacturer trying to increase sales with new models, it does not plan any news in the next few years at all . The reason is the drop in global sales in recent years and the tsunami in Japan in 2011. The parent company Toyota therefore wants to invest primarily where its money will get the best value, which is said not to be the case with Scion. Dealers in the US were therefore offered the option of dropping the brand's models from the range and keeping only Toyotas in their showrooms. However, none of them allegedly accepted it.
Almost all models in Scion 's range received at least minor modifications this year, but we will not see completely new models until 2016. Contrary to this fact, however, there are speculations about the arrival of the third generation of the xB model as early as 2015, while a redesigned model is also not excluded xD
Either way, we won't see a new car from Scion for two years at the earliest, while most of the brand's offerings have been on the market for over four years and are rapidly aging. Scion is in a very difficult situation and we fear that it will not be too late to save it when the new models are finally introduced…
Source: edmunds.com, reuters.com, autoguide.com
