Post by Rinconrolla on Feb 8, 2016 18:12:15 GMT -5
Toyota is ending its youth-oriented Scion brand and transitioning back to the Toyota brand.
Toyota, which launched the Scion in 2003 to attract younger budget-conscious car buyers, said beginning in August, it will re-badge the MY17 Scion as Toyota models.
The FR-S sports car, iA sedan and iM 5-door hatchback will become part of the Toyota family. The tC sports coupe will have a final release series edition and end production in August this year. The C-HR, which recently debuted at the L.A. Auto Show, will be a part of the Toyota line-up.
The service and repair process for Scion customers will be unaffected by this change as customers will continue to visit Toyota dealerships’ service departments.
Jim Lentz, founding vice president of Scion who is now CEO of Toyota Motor North America, said Toyota’s initial strategy of bringing in younger customers with the Scion has worked.
“This isn’t a step backward for Scion; it’s a leap forward for Toyota,” Lentz said in a statement. “Scion has allowed us to fast track ideas that would have been challenging to test through the Toyota network.”
Toyota sold more than a million units of the Scion, with 70 percent being bought by customers new to Toyota and 50 percent who were customers under 35 years old.
“I was there when we established Scion and our goal was to make Toyota and our dealers stronger by learning how to better attract and engage young customers,” added Lentz. “I’m very proud because that’s exactly what we have accomplished.”
Still, Scion sales have fallen in recent years. Its sales fell 3 percent in 2015 to 56,187 units, a figure that was down 24 percent from 73,507 in 2012 and down 68 percent from a peak of 173,034 units in 2006, according to USA Today.
Toyota said Scion’s 22-member staff, who represent sales, marketing, distribution, strategy, and product and accessories planning, will have the opportunity to take on new jobs at Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. in Torrance. Scion regional representatives will assume different responsibilities in their respective Toyota sales offices.
The company said it also will work with its 1,004 Scion dealers during the transition period.
Although Scion vehicles are brought through Jacksonville, the discontinuance of the brand will have no impact on the number of vehicles brought through Southeast Toyota, said Marc Spoto, director of corporate communications for the vehicle distributor.
Although manufacturing of the tC will end in August, the iA, iM, FR-S and C-HR will all continue under the Toyota brand.
“All Scions we would have received will simply just be Toyotas,” Spoto said. “It will be the same number of vehicles.”
Story www.bizjournals.com/memphis/blog/morning_call/2016/02/toyota-ending-scion-brand.html
Toyota, which launched the Scion in 2003 to attract younger budget-conscious car buyers, said beginning in August, it will re-badge the MY17 Scion as Toyota models.
The FR-S sports car, iA sedan and iM 5-door hatchback will become part of the Toyota family. The tC sports coupe will have a final release series edition and end production in August this year. The C-HR, which recently debuted at the L.A. Auto Show, will be a part of the Toyota line-up.
The service and repair process for Scion customers will be unaffected by this change as customers will continue to visit Toyota dealerships’ service departments.
Jim Lentz, founding vice president of Scion who is now CEO of Toyota Motor North America, said Toyota’s initial strategy of bringing in younger customers with the Scion has worked.
“This isn’t a step backward for Scion; it’s a leap forward for Toyota,” Lentz said in a statement. “Scion has allowed us to fast track ideas that would have been challenging to test through the Toyota network.”
Toyota sold more than a million units of the Scion, with 70 percent being bought by customers new to Toyota and 50 percent who were customers under 35 years old.
“I was there when we established Scion and our goal was to make Toyota and our dealers stronger by learning how to better attract and engage young customers,” added Lentz. “I’m very proud because that’s exactly what we have accomplished.”
Still, Scion sales have fallen in recent years. Its sales fell 3 percent in 2015 to 56,187 units, a figure that was down 24 percent from 73,507 in 2012 and down 68 percent from a peak of 173,034 units in 2006, according to USA Today.
Toyota said Scion’s 22-member staff, who represent sales, marketing, distribution, strategy, and product and accessories planning, will have the opportunity to take on new jobs at Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. in Torrance. Scion regional representatives will assume different responsibilities in their respective Toyota sales offices.
The company said it also will work with its 1,004 Scion dealers during the transition period.
Although Scion vehicles are brought through Jacksonville, the discontinuance of the brand will have no impact on the number of vehicles brought through Southeast Toyota, said Marc Spoto, director of corporate communications for the vehicle distributor.
Although manufacturing of the tC will end in August, the iA, iM, FR-S and C-HR will all continue under the Toyota brand.
“All Scions we would have received will simply just be Toyotas,” Spoto said. “It will be the same number of vehicles.”
Story www.bizjournals.com/memphis/blog/morning_call/2016/02/toyota-ending-scion-brand.html