Toyota pulls the plug on Scion small vehicle brand

The parent company from Japan tries to sugarcoat the situation with a happy-go-lucky statement that goes like: “This isn’t a step backward for Scion; it’s a leap forward for Toyota”.

Scion, Toyota’s spin-off brand aimed at a younger generation, had become too old and needed to be put down.

“It’s been a great run and I’m proud that the spirit of Scion will live on through the knowledge and products soon to be available through the Toyota network”, said Scion vice president Andrew Gilleland.

The Scion brand was established in 2003 and was tasked with bringing in younger buyers into the Toyota fold in the United States.

Toyota and Scion brands are generally sold from the same dealerships and beginning in August, most Scion vehicles will just be rebadged as Toyotas.

The tC sports coupe will have a final release year before ending production, the company said. Toyota also showed a Scion version of its C-HR subcompact crossover concept at the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show last fall. Current owners can continue to visit any Toyota dealership for their routine service. In fact, 65 per cent of Scion buyers in Canada were new to the brand and it had the lowest average client age in Canada at 39.

Toyota confirmed today that its Scion brand will be axed. Will you stick with Toyota, or move on to a new automaker?

Scion’s existing dealers and customers will remain unaffected following the decision to call off the brand.

Beavis noted that all the roughly 1,000 Scion dealers already sell Toyota, making the transition easier.

With an annual sales target of 100,000 cars, Scion managed to deliver fewer than 60,000 previous year.

I’m not sure why Toyota needed to launch a brand to acquire that information.

The death of Scion isn’t a shock as the brand has struggled to regain its initial success, although it does come as the brand appeared to be mounting a comeback.

Toyota said it had no plans to scale back small vehicle sales. Toyota arguably owns the trend-and the most successful example-with Lexus, which rebranded Japanese-market Toyotas like the Soarer and Camry with a side helping of added luxury.

Toyota reported lackluster Scion sales in January.

But critically panned design choices – such as the cramped iQ mini auto – set the brand on a path toward irrelevancy for the average new-vehicle shopper.