Scion Gave Toyota Youth Movement

Toyota realized the average age of their customers was 54 years in the late 1990s, which brought us a new name; Scion.

This new name came to the market in the late 1990s to bring that youth-oriented movement necessary to bring the average age of Toyota customers down a few years. This new marquee did what it needed to for the company. Originally the project was called Exodus, but the brand eventually became known as Scion. Let’s take a look at how this brand became a name we would now for a few years.

The First Models Arrived in 2002

If you look around the auto market today, you’ll notice that the new brand name is no longer part of the mix. This brand didn’t last 20 years in the market, but it did arrive in 2002 with the right intentions. The first models introduced in New York were the xB and tC which both had a specific place in the market to give younger drivers the desired ride. By the time the Los Angeles Auto Show arrived, it was time for the xA to hit the market and become a real thing.

A Starting Point for this New Brand

When the 2003 model year began, Scion was limited to 105 dealerships throughout California. It only took one more year for this brand to be offered across the entire country. Three models were offered and the sales process was unorthodox compared to other dealership and the way they sell cars. The process was called pure price which meant there wasn’t any need to offer negotiations in the sales process. No matter the vehicle, the price on the car was the price you paid when you bought the xB, xA, or tC models from the dealership.

Not only was this brand offered with no need to haggle or try and reduce the price of the models in the market. Each of these cars was only offered in one model to ensure shoppers don’t have to pick a lot of items to add to their vehicles. The options offered for each of these vehicles became the accessories that shopper wanted instead of models they have to pay for. With the idea to sell cars without negotiations and offer single models of each one, it made it easy for younger shoppers to have an easy way to get the right car without the intimidation of price haggling or multiple trim levels.

Sales Grew and Became Part of the Growth

The first two models offered by this new brand, xA and xB, brought characteristics that made them unique and more attractive to youthful buyers. The Toyota reputation brought the reliability desired and found a successful spot in the market with 173,000 models sold under the Scion brand by 2006. This gave the Toyota Motor Company proof that all three of these new models were well-received in the market and offered drivers what they desired in their vehicles.

Do You Remember any Scion Commercials?

Not only did this new brand offer an unorthodox sales method, but the marketing campaign was different. The various models offered were marketed through social medial sites, races, theater advertisements, posters, and viral regional marketing campaigns. This was a whole new way to advertise vehicles and it worked well for the brand. This new name came to the road in ways that most of the other models did. This new way of promoting a brand was much different from what we saw in the past and it reached youthful buyers where they spend their time.

Special Models Came to the Market

Similar to what other brands offer with some of their highly sought-after models, the Scion lineup included a special package of special edition models called the “release series”. These vehicles were a limited edition models and offered in a unique color for each model. Each of the special edition models were offered in numbers between 1700 and 2500 units. Across the country, this meant each dealership received two or three models from the collection of special edition models. These models sold very quickly because the prices were set and each dealership had to keep the price where it was set by the company.

New Models and an Expanded Market

It didn’t take long for the process of selling cars this way became a bit of a fad and the sales dropped significantly. That didn’t stop Toyota from expanding the reach of this brand in to the Canadian market in 2010. Not long after that, a couple of new models came under the brand to be part of what was offered. The Scion iQ was based on the European version of the Toyota iQ and the next was a new sports car called the FR-S.

The new iQ became a subcompact car that focused on metro driving to allow this brand to have a car that was ideal for city driving. The new FR-S became one of the most popular vehicles in the market. This was a small sports car that was perfect for young drives to have the desired drive. This new sports car was engineered to bring the handling, power, and efficiency desired on any road. A horizontal four-cylinder engine gave the FR-S the right power and balance of driving to make sure it could offer drivers the fun and excitement desired.

Where is Scion Today?

There’s no longer a Scion brand in the market. Toyota brought the models from this brand back under its umbrella, offering some of the names with the Toyota badge that we’ve admired for a few years. Some of the sales ideas help to make this new Toyota lineup more attractive and enjoyable while delivering the right vehicles to drive. While Scion has been sucked back into Toyota, the goals set out worked and the average age of Toyota customers has dropped to a more agreeable number. You can find some used models that still wear this badge, giving you desired driving elements and the youthful feeling you want.