Most people in the UK would look at you with a raised eyebrow if you asked them what a brand called "Scion" makes, but over on North American territory it appears to be a pretty well known nameplate in the auto world. As a sub-division of Toyota, Scion is a brand which is positioned below Toyota is terms of status and is targeted at first time car buyers. The goal was to acquire loyal customers through an affordable Scion, who would then purchase a Toyota, followed by a more premium Lexus - This would make Scion the first stepping stone into being acquainted with the world's largest car producer. In theory, this would makes sense.
When Scion started producing cars, the North American public was greeted with the xB, pictured above. This rebadged Toyota bB was a quirky box-shaped compact car which featured styling elements from popular Japanese domestic market cars, in a larger package to suit the needs of the American customer. The controversial styling meant it would appeal to a select number of consumers and those who liked it want to stand out from the crowd, which is what made it more appealing to younger customers.
Fast foward a few years and the xB becomes dated. Purchasing an xB was no longer a hip thing to do as they were becoming a common sight on the streets and the boxy shape was too familiar. Good thing Scion came up with another appealing car, this time in the form of a sports coupe called the tC. When you discover the tC is based on the Toyota Avensis, it doesn't seem that exciting but the low price and simplicity of the chassis made it a tuner's favourite. It made countless appearances at SEMA autoshows and some have been converted to rear wheel drive to compete in Formula Drift events.
Still, the sporty and customisable tC was not immune to becoming dated either and the xA (xD after 2007) compact car on offer seemed to be a dead weight for the brand. Sales took a turn for the worse since 2007 and the global financial crisis didn't help either as many people were out of pocket, especially the younger demographic Scion primarily targeted their cars towards. In order to stay afloat, Scion launched two new cars; The iQ and the FR-S.
The former would become the smallest four-seater car on the market, being slightly larger than the two-seater Smart ForTwo. However, this seemed like a rather odd move since North Americans are known for liking much larger cars. This was never going to be a big seller, so it was up to the FR-S to save the brand. Things seem to be looking good in its first year but it was never going to reach the highs of the mid-2000's ever again. Before it could, the appeal of the FR-S dried up. With sports cars, this is a normal phase to enter, but how did Scion expect to survive then?
The final choice left for Scion was to start producing normal compact cars - nothing too fancy and would appeal to a larger demographic. Last year saw the launch of the Mazda 2 based Scion iA and the iM, essentially a rebadged Toyota Auris. Later on this year, Scion was expected to reveal a production version of the C-HR, a new compact crossover. But then the penny dropped - If Scion is producing ordinary commodity cars, why not brand them with the more popular Toyota brand?
Now here we are today, taking about the demise of Scion. It wasn't a completely pointless venture - if anything, it has taught car makers, including Toyota, a few valuable lessons. Don't create a car brand to primarily target younger audiences and a low-cost niche product should not be expected to save a brand. If Scion was to launch a rebadged Mazda 2 and Toyota Auris a decade a ago when the brand was making a name for itself, it would probably have a much larger market presence.
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