Tomas

I just took a quick looks at the sales figures Toyota released for May 2010 today, and Scion sales are still way down from last year (and last year, 2009, was HALF the sales of 2008).

Some of the Toyota line are doing quite well, and are continuing to sell, but Scion appears to just be hobbling along.

I don't know why that is, it could be that the vehicles they currently have just don't generate the excitement they did when first released, or even that they don't generate the excitement the original Scion models did.

It could even be that Scion isn't "working the crowd" and getting the Scion Community excited like they used to, after all we ARE their sales force since they actually advertise very little other than the "viral" and word-of-mouth advertising they depend on us for.

Whatever it is, Scion sales are not doing well.

Here are the raw numbers so you can look for yourself:

December 2009 Sales

January 2010 Sales
February 2010 Sales
March 2010 Sales
April 2010 Sales

May 2010 Sales
________________

Honestly, for myself, a staunch Scion supporter - a "fanboi" if you will - Scion doesn't have a vehicle in their line-up now that I would want to buy.

Don't get me wrong, Scions are good cars, but they abandoned the niche that suits me when they discontinued the original xB City Car / Urban Utility Vehicle and did not replace it with another City Car / UUV.

The xB2 is a great car, great value, but it is a freeway cruiser not the tiny City Car with massive space that I find so attractive.

If they announced they were bringing in the current bB / Materia / Coo / DEX (all the same vehicle from the same plant despite the name on the package*) in their line-up I'd pre-order it tomorrow morning. I'd be stoked. It is my box with all the upgrades I wanted (even the side air bags).

Hopefully the new tC and the iQ, which many of us have seen at the private presentations, will bring back some of the excitement, and Scion will once again "get the buzz on" with the community so sales will pick up and they can do even more.

For right now, though, I guess we just hang on and hope for the best. We as a community will continue to do our thing and enjoy our Scions. Hopefully Scion will once again get back to doing THEIR thing and give us something to be excited about.

Tom

* Those vehicles are the Toyota bB, Daihatsu COO, Diahatsu Materia, and Subaru DEX. I actually like the front end on the DEX the best, but underneath they are all the Toyota bB and the rightful successor to the Scion xB Classic's spot in the line-up.

Vlad1024

Right on. In some cases it's good for cars to get bigger(accord and camry) but scion's thing is small(and jdm). Whoever's in charge needs to get that through their head or it'll go the way of pontiac.

lawrance

I think it's important to keep in mind that ALL sales are still down due to the beating the economy has taken. Add to that, the which-hunt for Toyota over the last 6 months and it's not surprising. My dealer salesman told me Scion sales were way down because Toyota is running 0% financing and people who would normally buy a Scion (parents of teens or young adults) are opting for the financing / Toyota name combo right now. Scion will soon be adding the iQ and I haven't seen the new 2011 tC's due about now. I think the new iQ is going to sell well for 2 reasons: 1) it's as small as the Smart car but made by Toyota and 2) it has a back seat. I suspect the tC will improve in sales considering it has 19 more HP but is better on gas. I personally LOVE the XB2 over the XB1, but I know I'm in the minority in this forum.

Tomas

Take a look at the sales figures and compare the Scions to all the other models made by Toyota that are sold here. Yes, everything is down, but Scion more so than the many others.

The xB2 is an excellent machine, and I've recommended it wholeheartedly to folks I thought it would work well for, it's just not a City Car UUV (tiny footprint, tiny engine, lots of space), it's a Highway Cruiser - longer, lower, wider, more power - and an excellent bargain.

These are the UUV version, same size as the xB Classic but with a LOT of upgrades...



(Yes, those are all from the same factory and are the same vehicles except for nameplate and trim. I like the DEX front and the bB rear the best..)

tamago'Chi

Oh how I miss my 06' xb.. :/ I trade it in for a tc I wish i didn't do.. Maybe after I'm done paying my tc off I'll get an xb again but they need to bring back the square look to it.. I want my toaster back.. They also need to continue making XA's.. It's nice to have a hatch in the line.. I like that a lot.. I was gonna get that instead of my tc but they r nowhere to find coz it was discontinued after 2006.. XD is ok but not as appealing as the first three scions which is the tc, Xa and xb.. Oh how I miss my toasty.. :/

kustom_play

peer pricing is a killer, nobody wants to pay full price for a car in this economy

they want to feel like they are getting a good deal

Lex-M

Why don't we have these?!?!
I mean really!

Tomas

(I've bought fixed price/pure price since '83. Aside from the two Scions which are pure price, the rest of 'em were "fleet" pricing where all the numbers are on the table, and there was no need to haggle - the profit margin allowed was by contract. I much prefer that, and WILL NOT play the haggle game. A dealer has one opportunity to give me their best price. If I like it I buy, if I don't I walk.)

pyroman131

Scion sales are down???

It's probably those new Kia Soul commercials that are killing us!

I'm going to trade in my xB2 right now for one of those!

TheTransporter

I've just fallen in love with the Dex. The BB2 looks nice but that grill on the Dex really adds a lot to the look. Toyota needs to stop with the whole "American Bigger is Better" way of thinking. The Tundra seems to double in size and the 4runner is starting to look like the Seqouia. We should've got the USDM version of the BB2 instead of our current xB2 should've instead been released as a Corolla Wagon.

Tomas

Heh, with me it's not just the DEX grill, but those large, low-mounted fog and city lights. I'd really like to see something like that in the US market. I'd prefer it to be a Scion, but I'd take it if they called it George...

TheTransporter

I agree,plus the blacked out lower valance looks nice too!

djct_watt

I blame fanboys for the demise of scion. Everyone became committing to the brand, wanting it to succeed. And being that the majority of us purchased a scion (or two), it became taboo to say anything negative whatsoever. And when retarded prototypes pop up and focus groups are conducted, everyone cheers with joy at the lopsided turds rather than critique them like we could. Toyota/scion thinks it's giving us what we want, but except for those foolish enough to part away with more of their money, many of us have and are moving on to other makes, all while nobody new is interested in the current offerings.

If you take a look at acura, it's the same thing that happened there. To this day, Honda/Acura fanboys swear the new NSX will be out soon and Acura will soon be a tier 1 luxury brand. And in reality, it is struggling to stay afloat. The last great Acuras was the previous gen TL type R (that got squashed in sales by competition), and the previous gen TSX. Now it's a choice of what badge you want on your Accord.

With scion, the tC was the sweet spot and the new one... Well we will see but mos of you knowy opinion on that. You can get square matrix/corolla wagon with a scion badge, and then there's the very weird dodge-inspired styling of the 1.8L reskinned Yaris...

jobunaga

let's be real here. scion's novelty has worn off. how long did they think they could get away with offering the same three vehicles?

changing the name of the car from xA to xD doesn't give you a brand new car. the xB refresh is still an xB. scion had some early success and then rested on its laurels.

the new tC is too little too late, but the iQ has a real chance at revitalizing the brand (assuming that gas prices increase).

MoScion

I feel the lower sales numbers are a representation of the current economy. Many people are out of work and cannot afford a new car right now. Others are scared to take on additional commitments. Financing is still more difficult to come by than in the past. Many people who had older cars took advantage of the Cash for Clunkers program and are not in the market for a new car right now. The inflated sales numbers the program provided will make this years sales numbers look like they are down. Many of the US manufacturers were suffering from low sales last year due to fears of bankruptcy so it is easier for them to show huge percentage sales gains this year.

It was interesting to note that the latest sales numbers show that SUV’s are actually selling well. Those who are purchasing the 25k-30k + plus cars are probably older and making good money.

For the Scion brand the lack of promotional financing rates at near 0% I am sure is causing people to purchase other options. I agree with the comments that were made above.

The availability of the products on used car lots is another factor. When Scions came out you had to purchase them new, now there are a bunch of tC’s, xB’s, and even xD’s on used car lots. Let’s face it an 05 tC looks near identical to a 2010 tC. You can find a decent used tC for under 10k why pay close to 20k for a new one? The competition have updated their models over the last two years so you have a lot more options and features and styles compared to the dated tC. Another factor is you can get a lot for your money on used car lots these days. There are cars that sold for 30k + new a few years ago which are now priced under 15k on the used car lots.

I am waiting to see what the new tC will look and drive like.

Murphys_Law

iTrader: (3)

i blame it on the latest rounds of rs tC's the last few have sucked

djct_watt

^ Your about the economy and a discouraged market are true, however, Scion sales have been down long before the economy hit rock bottom. The trend started RIGHT when the new models dropped. The tC sales kept things afloat, but sales for even the tC slowly tapered, as it is an aged model. Even Toyoda himself admits that Scion is neglected (but hey, some people swear they are the best thing since slice bread...) check it out yourself
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2...ion-brand.html.

The Cube is selling well and even the Kia Soul has sold 20,000, YTD, and that's a KIA, decimating xD sales. . .
http://www.subcompactculture.com/201...act-sales.html

George

Dang, I'd be all over that one for some reason...

Scion hit a double by providing us with very mildly tweaked versions of their JDM bB and Ist and then scored a run with an inexpensive sporty coupe. Unfortunately they then forgot their original stated philosophy of always introducing new vehicles, not just updating the old ones.

The xB got fat and Americanized but somehow kept the xB name. The xA got a light update and a new name. Both of these decisions were obviously driven by the marketing gurus and keep in mind that these gurus were the ones who got Toyota into the "grey zone" in the first place.

In the meantime, both Nissan and Kia hit the market with cars that were more like the xB1 than the xB2. I can't quite get around the look of the Cube, but I'll give the Soul a try when it comes time for our xB to go to college with our daughter.

Meanwhile, the xD has a tough-to-beat nemisis, the Honda Fit. It's a heck of a car for the same price and the Honda dealer may even feel the need to entertain a bit of haggling in the current economy. This is another car on my short list. I'm not fond of Fords in general, but the new Fiesta will also knock down xD sales.

For me the xB was a pleasant happenstance, the aligning of my needs and Toyota's desire to compete with the Element with minimal capital outlay. If the xB1 was still sold I would buy one. It isn't so I will go down the street.

Somebody brought up the question of how long Toyota could have gotten away with selling the xB1. I can think of another company that sold a basic, practical car and got away with it for 50 years. I don't think that Toyota could have done that well, but they could have done better than the few years they gave us with the xB1.

Tomas

Yeah, in the letters I've sent to Scion recently, George, Ive mentioned that one of these days I may have to replace my xB Classic, and even though I would very much like to stay in the Scion family (or at least Toyota) they sadly don't have a single car that fulfills my needs, which leaves me with having to go to someone who does.

Scion created the UUV niche in the US market, but they've given it up to others without a fight.

Sciond

Agreed....
when I bought my car in january i wanted the rs 7.0 XB when I got the out the door pricing which they would not negotiate on I was at about 24,XXX
my 2010 VW Jetta TDI was 26,040 out of the door and had a sunroof....
so a little over 1k more for a car exponentially better? No brainer and they would not budge an inche even though they call me for every event to help promote it..loyalty hmmmmmm
Scion was a brand that offered utility and value with a flair for style....now???? I think you know the answer
my next Scion will be an old used one because no new are exciting
$14,200 base for an IQ NO THANKS