Scion (automobile)

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This article is about the former automotive brand of Toyota. For other uses, see Scion.
Scion
Toyota

Scion was a

trim levels and dealer haggling; each vehicle was offered in a single trim with a non-negotiable base price, while a range of dealer-installed options was offered to buyers for personalizing their vehicles.[1] The Scion name, meaning the descendant of a family or heir, refers both to the brand's cars and their owners.[4] In an effort to target millennials, Scion primarily relied on guerrilla and viral
marketing techniques.

The brand first

financial crisis of 2007–2008.[5] Toyota abolished the Scion brand at the start of the 2017 model year in August 2016; the vehicles were either rebranded as Toyotas or discontinued.[6]

History

In 1999, Toyota launched

Toyota Netz Store
Japanese dealerships.

Scion xA

Scion was marketed as a youth brand and was first introduced in March 2002, at the

t2B concept, and the new xD, successor of the xA, at an invitation-only, no-camera event in Miami. Both cars were then publicly unveiled on February 8, 2007, at the Chicago Auto Show.[10] The xD, a five-door subcompact car that is sold in Japan as the second generation Toyota Ist, was based on the Yaris platform with the tenth-generation Corolla's engine.[11]

Scion Hako concept

In September 2010, Scion expanded into Canada, with vehicles offered at 45 selected dealers starting in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, followed by other cities. Launch models included the tC, xD, and xB.[12] The first new Scions were shown in Canada at the 2009 Montreal International Auto Show.

Struggles

Sales of the Scion brand were down to a low of 45,678 for the 2010 model year, compared to over 170,000 for 2006. The management tried to resuscitate the brand, hoping to sell 35,000 to 45,000 tC in a year after the model was redesigned for 2011.

FR-S sports car went on sale as a 2013 model.[1] Later in 2012—despite the announcement of its imminent discontinuation—a facelifted version of the xB was unveiled.[16]

In late 2013, the xD and second-generation xB were in their seventh year without a substantial redesign, and Scion sales were still far short of their 2006 peak. Toyota began allowing dealers to drop the Scion marque without penalty.[5] The recently introduced FR-S had strong initial sales, but combined sales of the new FR-S and redesigned tC did not equal sales of the tC alone during 2005 through 2008,[1] and industry observers concluded that the FR-S was cannibalizing sales of the similar tC. iQ sales never met expectations, and by 2014, observers were characterizing it as a "disappointment." A primary goal of the Scion brand was to introduce young first-time buyers to Toyota products, but analysts found that relatively few Scion buyers were making follow-on purchases from the more profitable Toyota and Lexus lines, and Gen Y buyers were generally making more pragmatic car-buying choices than their predecessors due to economic factors.[5]

For the 2015 model year, Scion released the

Toyota Yaris R sedan in Canada.[21]

Discontinuation

On February 3, 2016, Toyota announced that the Scion brand would be phased out in August after the 2016 model year, stating that the company no longer required a specific marque to target younger demographics. The FR-S, iA, and iM models were amalgamated into the Toyota marque for the 2017 model year as the

Toyota Corolla iM respectively,[22] while the tC was discontinued. The then-upcoming C-HR was also moved to the Toyota marque after originally being unveiled as a Scion. The change was not expected to cause disruption to service options, as Scion models were sold and serviced at Toyota dealerships.[6][23][19][24][25][26]

Lineup

Main article: List of Scion vehicles

Pricing, accessories, and availability

Scion used sales tools such as "Pure Price" and monospec

Generation Y
consumers formed the basis of the Scion badge.

Scion xB

"Pure Price" means that the price posted, whether on the vehicle, in an advertisement, or on a menu display board in the dealership, was the price customers would pay. This included the vehicle, accessories, finance and insurance products.[28] Pure Price was designed to ensure a shorter and simpler process, eliminating all negotiation, though it was common for dealers to add aftermarket accessories and mark vehicles up to increase profits. The concept aimed to be open and consistent to all customers. The concept was not new to the U.S. market, having been introduced in the early 1990s by the Geo and Saturn marques of General Motors.[29]

Scion's sales approach differed greatly from that of the Toyota brand. In the United States, for instance, the Toyota Camry was offered with four different trim levels intended for different crowds (budget-conscious, mainstream, sports-oriented and luxury);[30] all Scions, in contrast, had only one standard trim level (monospec) and were designed to be uniquely customized for the driver.[29]

Post-production accessories

Aftermarket customized Scion tC

Scion offered about 150 different accessories;

mud flaps
) from being installed.

Companies that participated in the Optōmize Scion program include

car detailing companies, and others.[33]

Release series

Beginning in the second quarter of 2004 with the launch of the 2004 Scion xB RS 1.0 (Release Series 1.0), followed by the Scion xA RS 1.0, Scion decided to create limited edition vehicles pre-packaged with exclusive accessories in limited quantities.

MSRP bounds dealerships against market-demand vehicle mark-up.[28] Naturally, resale values of Release Series vehicles command a premium because of their packaged options and scarcity.[36]

Scion xB RS 1.0

2004

  • xB RS 1.0 only available in Hot Lava Orange with 2100 units produced (504 units w/5spd, 1596 units w/automatic) [37]
  • xA RS 1.0 only available in Absolutely Red with 1550 units produced[34]

2005

  • xB RS 2.0 only available in Solar Yellow with 2500 units produced[38]
  • xA RS 2.0 only available in Spectra Blue Mica with 1700 units produced[39]
  • tC RS 1.0 only available in Absolutely Red with 2500 units produced[40]
Scion tC RS 1.0

2006

  • xB RS 3.0 only available in Envy Green with 2200 units produced[41]
  • xA RS 3.0 only available in Stingray Metallic light blue with 2500 units produced[42]
  • tC RS 2.0 only available in Blue Blitz Mica with 2600 units produced[43]
  • xB RS 4.0 only available in Maziora Torched Penny (polarized goldish brown) with 2500 units produced[44]

2007

  • tC RS 3.0 only available in Blizzard White with 2500 units produced[45]
Scion xD

2008

  • xB RS 5.0 only available in Gold Rush Mica with 2500 units produced[46]
  • tC RS 4.0 only available in Galactic Gray Mica with 2300 units produced[47]
  • xD RS 1.0 only available in Hot Lava Orange with 2000 units produced[48]
Scion FR-S

2009

  • xB RS 6.0 only available in Absolutely Red with 2500 units produced[36]
  • tC RS 5.0 only available in Gloss Black with 2000 units produced[49]
  • xD RS 2.0 only available in Wasabi Green with 2000 units produced[35]

2010

  • xB RS 7.0 only available in Murasaki Purple with 2000 units produced[50]
  • tC RS 6.0 only available in Speedway Blue with 1100 units produced[51]

2011

  • xB RS 8.0 only available in Voodoo Blue with 2200 units produced[52]
  • xD RS 3.0 only available in xPRESSO with 1500 units produced[53]

2012

  • xB RS 9.0 only available in Hot Lava with 1500 units produced[54]
  • xD RS 4.0 only available in Blizzard Pearl with 800 units produced[55]
  • tC RS 7.0 only available in High Voltage Yellow with 2200 units produced[56]

2013

  • tC RS 8.0 Only available in Absolutely Red with 2000 units produced[57]

2014

  • FR-S RS 1.0 Only available in Yuzu Yellow with 1500 units produced[58][59]
  • xB RS 10.0 Only available in Electric Quartz with 1500 units produced[60]

2015

  • tC RS 9.0 Only available in Two-Tone Black/Orange color with 2000 units produced.[61][62]

2016

  • FR-S RS 2.0 Only available in a bright smoked color called "Lunar Storm" with cloth and brown leather seat sidings, with the steering wheel having half of brown and half of black with it having white stitching, as well as the interior panels having brown leather, and the interior having brown stitching with 1000 units produced. The badge is located in the passenger side airbag in cloth stitching.[63]

Target market

In 2007, the median age of a Toyota consumer was 54 years old. Comparatively, Scion's average buyer age at that time was lowest in the industry, at 39.[64]

Initially, Scion's first two cars (the xA and xB), while unusual for American roads, were well received among consumers not interested in standard entry-level vehicles.[29] The tC was also well received with brisk sales.[65]

The marque's best-selling year was 2006, with 173,000 vehicles sold. Sales dropped in the ensuing years, to 57,961 vehicles in 2009. By 2010, the tC was the mainstay of the brand, accounting for over 40% of all Scions sold since the brand was established.[66] However, some sales of the second-generation tC were cannibalized by the similar FR-S.[5] In the U.S., sales of the xB declined after the introduction of the second generation, from a peak of over 60,000 to 17,017 in 2011; sales of the xD fell to 9,573 in 2011 from 32,603 in 2006.[67]

By the time it was discontinued, over a million Scion-branded cars were sold. Over 70% were sold to people new to Toyota and just over 50% of the cars sold were to people under the age of 35; tC buyers had an average age of 29, the lowest in the industry.[6][68][69]

Advertising

Scion Fuse concept

To advertise Scion, Toyota began a promotional campaign using a form of guerrilla marketing, using posters and ads in movie theaters and TV to direct consumers to its various "want2bsquare" web sites.[27][32] Scion's marketing endeavors extended to sponsorships, such as that of VBS.tv's show, Thumbs Up!, which featured David Choe hitchhiking across the United States. Scion sponsored two commercials featuring Concours race car driver Matt Verbin during the Castle Hill Concours d'Elegance, showing him racing a custom painted yellow and orange xB on Cambridge streets. Scion also teamed with Gaia Online, providing the xB, xD, and tC as a choice for user cars, as well as other things across the site.[70]

2006 Scion tC

Scion also used smaller, regional viral campaigns to reach niche demographics. Online campaigns such as Scion xPressionism allowed a user to modify and design their own Scion with graphics, decals, and aftermarket car parts.

Scion AV served as the brand's lifestyle marketing initiative, funding projects in music, art, and film.[72][73]

In August 2008, Scion released the "United by Individuality" ad campaign, featuring over 300 Scion owners' vehicles in various magazine articles, commercials, and billboards. The latest commercial video showed a convoy of Scions parading through the desert in

Boulder City, Nevada. These videos and ads could be seen on Scion's website.[74]

Sales

Model 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Total
FR-S 0 11,417 18,327 14,062 10,507 54,313
iQ 0 248 8,879 4,046 2,040 482 15,695
tC 28,062 74,415 79,125 63,852 40,980 17,998 15,204 22,433 22,666 19,094 17,947 16,459 9,336 427,571
xB 6,936 47,013 54,037 61,306 45,834 45,220 25,461 20,364 17,017 19,789 17,849 16,583 15,223 392,632
xD 10,948 27,665 14,499 10,110 9,573 10,756 9,005 7,377 794 100,727
xA 3,962 24,184 28,033 32,603 9,547 39 3 98,371
iA 7,605 7,605
iM 5,097 5,097
Total 10,898 99,259 156,485 173,034 130,181 113,904 57,961 45,678 49,271 73,507 68,321 58,009 56,167 1,092,675[6]

See also

  • eBox (a conversion of a Scion xB into BEV)

References

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External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Scion vehicles.
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