UPDATE 2: Will Toyota Kill Off the Scion Brand Today?
Update 2: Toyota has officially announced Scion’s “transition to Toyota.”
Update 1: Road&Track is reporting it has confirmed the rumor with an inside source and the death of Scion will be publicly announced later today.
A top-secret meeting took place Tuesday afternoon to announce the death of the Scion brand to employees, reports CarBuzzard (via Motor Trend). The company is rumored to make the announcement public today.
We at TTAC have openly wondered about the future of Scion, though recent sales performance of new products looked to have put the youth-oriented brand on the right track.
Established in 2002, Scion was Toyota’s plan to bring younger buyers into showrooms. Its initial products, especially the boxy xB, broke the mold and offered a very different alternative to the products available from the Toyota brand.
Most recently, Scion’s sales were on a steady slide until halfway through 2015. Two new products — the Toyota Europe-sourced iM and Mazda-sourced iA — looked as if they could turn the brand around.
At the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, Scion showed its version of the C-HR concept, a crossover that would give the brand much more legitimacy in a crossover-crazy market. A production version of that vehicle was expected to debut at the New York International Auto Show.
We will keep you up to date as we learn more through the day.
More by Mark Stevenson
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I just hope all those Littlest Angry Cars find good homes.
TOYOTA DEATHWATCH!!!!!
It's official: http://pressroom.toyota.com/releases/scion+transition+toyota.htm Scion Brand to Transition to Toyota ...snip... As part of the brand transition, beginning in August 2016, MY17 Scion vehicles will be rebadged as Toyotas. 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 2016. The C-HR, which recently debuted at the L.A. Auto Show, will be a part of the Toyota line-up.
Toyota has plenty of names to use here in north america without having to continue using Alpha-Numeric gibberish used on the Scion Models. Just off the top of my head, there is: - Carina - Corona - Celica - Tercel - Echo - Matrix - Harrier - Paseo - Starlet - Supra And I'm sure there are others...