Posted on Monday 11 August 2008
Update: Originally targeted at the youth market and intended to have an ever-changing line of new models that didn’t resemble those of the previous generation, Scion has instead ended up producing a series very similar vehicles at a fairly slow pace. Now pundits and the company itself are re-evaluating the brand’s relevance and strategy.
The current staples of the brand, the redesigned xB and the ‘new’ xD very closely resemble the original entrants, the xB and xA. The tC coupe is set for a full redesign in 2010, but has received a few minor updates since its 2005 debut. With five-year model lives and iterative designs that evolve the same basic look, however, Scion isn’t sticking to its original plan. With at least 16 consecutive months of sales decreases, the Scion brand is troubled at a fundamental level, with analysts comparing the brand to General Motors’ Saturn nameplate, which many have credited as a distraction from GM’s more established brands.
Tanking sales and an elusive demographic mean Toyota is considering new ways to build cars for the ‘youth market’ the brand is intended to target, reports the Detroit Free Press. It’s not clear that there is a plan yet, but the brand is working on one, according to Scion corporate manager Dawn Ahmed. “We have to challenge ourselves to be relevant to trend-setting customers. We’re looking at ways to enhance and refresh our products,” she said.”Scion was established five years ago with a blank sheet of paper. As we look to the next five to 10 years, there are no sacred cows. We want to make the Scion brand special, unique and exclusive.”
Original: Toyota has become used to being successful in almost everything it does, so it must have come as a shock when the carmaker’s youth brand, Scion, suffered from falling sales for 16 straight months. Even though dealers have had two updated models to sell during the period, monthly sales have fallen each month, and the brand’s recent struggle comes as a surprise considering the great success of the first-generation of Scion cars.
The falling popularity has been attributed to a weak car market and Scion’s marketing strategy which requires ‘momentum’ to be successful. Toyota has also acknowledged that the model changeover was a factor in slowing down the momentum behind Scion due to the lengthy time period they took to get the xB and xD into showrooms. “We underestimated the loss of momentum from the dark period for those two vehicles,” said Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA, during a recent interview with AutoWeek. “The way Scion is marketed, it takes longer to get traction.” Ever since the changeover of two of the three Scion models, the xB and the xD, sales fell almost 25% in 2007.
Declining sales have also been blamed on increased competition from other car manufacturers. An analyst from J.D. Power and Associates said that the typical Scion customer fits into two profiles - one looking for the cheapest car, and the other buying a Scion because it is cool. It is the former category, rather than the latter, which might be affected by increased competition in the subcompact market from manufacturers such as Nissan and Fiat.
To give an example of how much trouble the brand is in, January sales of Scion models was around 7800 units. In January of 2006, around 10 700 Scions were sold through about 60 less Scion dealers then there are currently. In the short-term not much can be done except to increase the marketing and hype around Scion but in the long term Scion dealers are hoping for new models to attract new and repeat customers looking to trade-in their old Scions.
Here’s a clue: the original xB was nothing short of an insult to the motoring public. It was Toyota’s way of saying *we’re so good we’ll build any ugly ass crapper and you will like it and buy it*. It was a car built with one purpose: to piss other drivers off just by looking at it.
The xA? I’ll just buy a Corolla. And the sporty one in the picture? Not a bad looking car but not a serious one either.
The original xB was like a poor man’s Honda Element but I think that they realized this & the 2nd generation looks much more substantial - altho that’s not saying much.
Looks like I’m in the minority here, but Iliked/like/own an original xB. The style was certainly a love it/hate it affair, but it was A. Inexpensive B. Good fuel economy C. Great interior space.
The new xB gets A. worse fuel economy B. Less headroom C. Gained something like 700 lbs.
I see the slump as a result of an essentially unchanged tC since it’s initial release, the xA(never)/xD (probably still wont) sell very well, and a new xB that probably alienated it’s core audience. Though I like the new design (xB) inside and out, it’s the reduced fuel economt that would keep me looking if I was back in the market for a commuter.
Leland’s analysis certainly matches my thoughts. There’s a Scion dealership downtown where I live and for the first couple of years we saw plenty of tCs, a few xAs and plenty of xBs. All the xBs have inexplicably disappeared and I haven’t seen a single new xB or xD on the streets in months. I think that a lot of people bought into the xB styling (not me), and felt disappointed that Scion lost its edge so quickly. I think if they replace the tC and refresh the styling of the xD to recapture the appeal of the original xB they might be able to reverse the decline. I think they also need to change marketing strategies again. The buyers they are targeting were 12 - 14 years old when this brand launched - it simply never appeared on their radar!
@ HECTOR,
“we’re so good we’ll build any ugly ass crapper and you will like it and buy it”
- and buy it they did
I’ve seen ALOT of those on the roads
The original Scion XB was by intention or accident, controversial, as demonstrated by the comments above. Controversy draws attention, and the XB single handedly drew attention to the fledgling Scion brand that no amount of expensive advertising could have matched. It should be noted that Toyota believed the XA would be the sales leader of the new brand, and miscalculated the number of XB’s required to meet initial demand. I believe the XB also surprised Toyota by resonating with an older demographic, similar to the experience of Honda with their Element. Unfortunately, Toyota seems to have misunderstood they had stumbled on a new niche, by replacing the ultra compact XB with a bigger, heavier, more feature laden vehicle, you know, more like other cars.
I suspect Nissan did take notice of this niche, and has made plans to bring their XB lookalike the “Cube” to our shores this spring. I might add that I believe the Cube was originally launched in Japan before the XB, so Nissan gets points for originality, while Scion gets points for at least being the first to try the concept in America first.
@ Rich
Nissan’s first gen Cube does not look like the first gen bB by Toyota in Japan. Nissan’s first gen Cube ran through 2002 where the Toyota bB/Scion xB started in 2000.
I do agree that Nissan will take many of Scion/Toyota’s customers with the Cube. If it offers good gas milage with a cheap starting point and easy entry to the car it will be a big winner!
My wife and I own both Scion xB’s and I love my first gen much more. It still turns heads where my wife’s xB just blends in with the rest of the cars on the road…
There are ways of drawing attention Laz. A woman may draw attention to herself by being pretty and homely (or by looking like Jessica Simpson) or she may draw attention to herself by looking like Andrea Dwarkin on a bad day.
The original xB is Andrea Dwarkin. On a bad day.
Apologies to the late Ms Dwarkin.
Noooo! Don’t go to Nissan! Get a Honda Fit/Jazz!
I think ‘Hector’ nailed it on the head with his first comment….
The cars are so ugly that that is there trademark…. There is a lot of Italian design houses that could save this brand…. but at the end of the day do we need it????
There are better choices out there people….
Toyota should stick to Toyota…. They had a car here years ago with a similar concept.. It was called Dahutsu (spelling), I think they own like 70% =/-… They messed that up too…. They have great marketing (Toyota), but without the the name they fail…………..
It really makes me laugh when people really have strong feeling against a car they do not ever own! Hector you are entitled to your feelings but is the reason I like the heck of this little car. Scion really lost that hate or love it feeling with the second gen xB!
@ Ziglet
I’m 6′4″ and can not fit in a Fit! If remember correctly the Cube is pretty small too.
My mom (74) wanted to buy a scion XA? (Yaris) but decided against it. The price was the main reason for looking at the car, but it just didn’t seam like it was put together very well . She ended up buying a Nissan Versa and is very happy with the car. We also test drove a Honda fit but the dealer wouldn’t budge on the price and didn’t give her enough for her trade in. I though the Fit was the best of the three cars we looked at.
@ dcars
Ths xA is discontinued when Scion brought the xD. The xA was never based off the Yaris.
If Scion doesn’t want to be the next GM style failure, they need to drop the xD, return the xB to its boxy roots and advertise it as a tuner’s dream (the old commercials sucked at doing this), and come out with the tC redesign NOW, when the tC first came out I saw so many, but now none.
Well if you’re 6′4″ I’m guessing it’s probably hard for you to fit in any economy car… And dcars of course the Fit was the best of the three. Why wouldn’t it be?
This is the reason I drive a first gen xB, there is tons of leg and head room. Not sure what I’m going to do when I decide to get into another compact car…