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Old 02-04-2016, 08:01 PM   #1
johnpico
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Default Toyota kills Scion

What do you all think about Toyota killing the Scion badge and merging it with Toyota? The dealers have a lot invested in it with Toyota requiring them to build separate showrooms for the brand. Supposedly, the dealers will receive some compensation. I think it is a good idea, but it should have been with Toyota from the beginning, much like Saturn should have been kicked-off as a part of the Chevrolet family.
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Old 02-05-2016, 05:16 AM   #2
steve_biegler
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The manufacturers haven't cared about the dealer for decades. Its nice that the dealer may get a fraction of their investments back. THIS is exactly why the franchise laws exist and need to be strong!! Any comments about where it belonged from the beginning is just 20/20 hindsight in my opinion.
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Old 02-05-2016, 07:55 AM   #3
tnpartsguy
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Toyota wanted to be GM - multiple divisions offering Entry, average, and luxury brands.
The problem was the Gen X/Y that was their target didn't want stripped down funky cars. The funky cars, yes, but they wanted all the options that you could get on a Lexus.
Many of the cars will become Toyota's, except maybe the IQ (it may already be dead). Heck the TC is easy, TC meant Toyota Celica.....
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Old 02-05-2016, 12:34 PM   #4
XDCX
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I thought it was interesting that Toyota decided to kill off the Scion brand - while I think it makes business sense I'm a bit surprised that Toyota wasn't too arrogant to admit that the Scion brand had failed.

I remember vividly when Scion was launched - Toyota was at the top of their game plan and it looked like they'd dominate the world. Granted, Toyota is still a super successful company but they've also been humbled with their recalls, quality concerns and allegations of sudden acceleration.

I don't fault Toyota for developing the Scion brand - most OEMs want to attract young buyers to their brands and Toyota did have a stale image with most young buyers. Part of the problem with Scion, in my opinion, is the price/size of their cars attracted senior citizens that pretty much killed the image of Scion being a youth brand.

Concerning the Scion Dealers, it will be interesting to hear what Toyota offers for compensation and whether most dealers are happy with the new direction the company is taking.
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Old 02-08-2016, 06:42 PM   #5
mryan55
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2015 was the last model year for the iQ in the US. It continues on in other markets, and was even briefly re-badged as an Aston Martin Cygnet. Long story, but basically a way for Aston Martin to increase their average fuel economy in the UK. I don't think the Cygnet was released elsewhere.

If there is anything to take solace in here, seeing as there are no dedicated Scion points we don't have to worry aobut dealer fallout. The newest products -- the iA (rebadge of Mazda2) and iM (basically a modern Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix) seem to be class competitive and hit pricepoints that the main Toyota brand doesn't.

This may also position Toyota to reduce the headcount of models sold the US. At the $18k price point the iA seems more competitive than the long standing Yaris, so they could cut the Yaris in the US as long as they are comfortable selling a rebadged Mazda as their subcompact car here the US.

At our Toyota point Scion never accounted for more than 10% of the new vehicle volume, and in many months closer to 5% and sometimes 0%. Our best month ever for Scion was 13 units, versus 138 for Toyota.
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Old 02-09-2016, 10:34 AM   #6
XDCX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mryan55 View Post
2015 was the last model year for the iQ in the US. It continues on in other markets, and was even briefly re-badged as an Aston Martin Cygnet. Long story, but basically a way for Aston Martin to increase their average fuel economy in the UK. I don't think the Cygnet was released elsewhere.

If there is anything to take solace in here, seeing as there are no dedicated Scion points we don't have to worry aobut dealer fallout. The newest products -- the iA (rebadge of Mazda2) and iM (basically a modern Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix) seem to be class competitive and hit pricepoints that the main Toyota brand doesn't.

This may also position Toyota to reduce the headcount of models sold the US. At the $18k price point the iA seems more competitive than the long standing Yaris, so they could cut the Yaris in the US as long as they are comfortable selling a rebadged Mazda as their subcompact car here the US.

At our Toyota point Scion never accounted for more than 10% of the new vehicle volume, and in many months closer to 5% and sometimes 0%. Our best month ever for Scion was 13 units, versus 138 for Toyota.
Great post - thanks for sharing the information.

I had never heard that Aston Martin briefly sold a version of the Scion iQ - that's amazing. I bet the Aston Martin loyalists were going insane.

In the U.S. FCA seems to be using the strategy of buying emission credits from companies like Tesla to meet federal requirement - I wonder if that option is not available in the UK?

Concerning your Toyota store's Scion volume that's really interesting - it seems clear that Toyota made the logical decision to kill off the Scion brand.
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Old 02-22-2016, 07:18 PM   #7
mryan55
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The Aston Martin Cygnet was the butt of many jokes on the UK version of Top Gear. For better or worse it was never a model we had to worry about in the US!

FCA is indeed a big bidder when it comes to purchasing emission credits.

A few weeks after the decision to kill of the Scion brand and there doesn't seem to be much backlash among our Toyota staff or customers, for that matter.

Although it is ironic that the plug is pulled in the same year as the introduction of fresh products for what seems like the first time in a decade, at least the new products should soldier on as Toyotas. The only possible hiccup could be what is today known as the iA, since it is a re-badge of the new generation Mazda2. Mazda has made it clear that they don't see themselves bringing the new Mazda2 to the US market, so this would seem safe.

With the Yaris being long in the tooth, at least prospective Toyota buyers won't have to consider if the want to step 'down' to a Scion to purchase on xA or iM -- and perhaps the models will get more sensible names once they're rolled into the Toyota brand.
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Old 02-24-2016, 10:20 AM   #8
XDCX
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mryan55 View Post
The Aston Martin Cygnet was the butt of many jokes on the UK version of Top Gear. For better or worse it was never a model we had to worry about in the US!

FCA is indeed a big bidder when it comes to purchasing emission credits.

A few weeks after the decision to kill of the Scion brand and there doesn't seem to be much backlash among our Toyota staff or customers, for that matter.

Although it is ironic that the plug is pulled in the same year as the introduction of fresh products for what seems like the first time in a decade, at least the new products should soldier on as Toyotas. The only possible hiccup could be what is today known as the iA, since it is a re-badge of the new generation Mazda2. Mazda has made it clear that they don't see themselves bringing the new Mazda2 to the US market, so this would seem safe.

With the Yaris being long in the tooth, at least prospective Toyota buyers won't have to consider if the want to step 'down' to a Scion to purchase on xA or iM -- and perhaps the models will get more sensible names once they're rolled into the Toyota brand.
Thanks for the update - interesting to hear that the killing off of the Scion brand is mostly a non event for dealership personnel and retail customers.

Concerning the vehicle names, I agree 100%. While Toyota certainly does a lot of things right, their choice of "Scion" as a brand name and then the model names that followed certainly was poor. I've heard so many people butcher the "Scion" name when trying to pronounce it I wonder how much consumer testing Toyota did before they made their decision.
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