Toyota Axes Scion Brand

“We could not have achieved the success we have had without the incredible support of Scion’s customers, dealers, and team members, so supporting them throughout this transition process will be one of our top priorities”, Lentz said. Half of the 1 million Scions sold were bought by people under 35, Carter said, and 70 percent of those buyers were new to the Toyota family.

Younger buyers frequently express their desire for functional, stylish, dependable, fun-to-drive vehicles that are affordable and practical. They are the Scion FR-S coupe, Scion iA sedan and Scion iM hatchback.

Scion The Scion tC sports coupe will have its final release this year then die with the Scion brand.

The Scion C-HR, which debuted at the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show in concept form and hinted at a new direction for the brand, will be part of the Toyota lineup.

Although the decision comes just as Toyota is adding new Scion models, it isn’t entirely surprising. In addition to the Auris, the iA is sold as a Toyota Yaris in Canada, while the FR-S is known as the Toyota GT86 pretty much everywhere except the U.S.

But sales tumbled to just 56,000 units in 2015, down 3% from the previous year despite a surging market overall.

But sales have been lagging for a while now, presumably due to younger shoppers not being able to afford an automobile purchase – though Toyota says its intended audience has also grown up.

Launched in 2003, Scion served as a testing ground for cars and campaigns aimed at younger drivers. The brand seemed to start off strong but fizzled in the subsequent years.

With an annual sales target of 100,000 cars, Scion managed to deliver fewer than 60,000 a year ago. Toyota says it will work closely with them to deal with the change.

Toyota is relegating Scion to the boneyard, the automaker said Wednesday. The Japanese carmaker’s youth-orientated brand will cease to exist in August this year after 13 years in the market, with most of its existing cars to be rebadged as Toyotas in the North American market.

Kelley Blue Book analyst Karl Brauer called the event historic.

Toyota also said the move won’t mean any of its products are getting cut and that it won’t change its relationship with partners Mazda and Subaru; those continue as is.

Its initial lineup of models include the xA, sold as the Toyota Ist in Japan and Asia, and the xB, a Toyota bB with enlarged bumpers.