Jim Lentz, the CEO of Toyota North America, wants to reinvent Scion as a brand of small-premium cars.
“I still personally believe small-premium is the direction we should be going. I think that (the) Toyota channel, itself, with vehicles like Yaris and other small, B-platform cars, can handle the lower end of the market. I think that C-platform premium small cars are probably the best place for Scion to be,” Lentz told Wards Auto in an interview.
The plan would not affect Toyota’s luxury brand Lexus, which said it won’t sell a model below $30,000, leaving enough room for premium offerings from Scion. However, it appears there isn’t a consensus on this issue within Toyota North America.
Scion vice president Doug Murtha said the brand is still going after a younger audience, although he says doesn’t disagree with Lentz’s desire for a small-premium model lineup. “He may be having discussions at levels I’m not,” Murtha said. “If he’s able to somehow lobby to take the brand in a new direction, that’s probably a longer-term proposition than we’re looking at right now,” the executive added.
For now, Scion is planning for the 2017-2025 model years, with the first new model on the radar being the production version of the iM Concept (pictured) unveiled at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show. Based on the Toyota Auris and starting from under $20,000, the car will be unveiled at the 2015 New York Auto Show in April and will be one of three new models Scion is planning to launch in three years.
The brand aims for 100,000 annual sales in the U.S., but has a long way to go to achieve that. Sales in the first 10 months of this year reached 50,285 units, 14.8 percent lower than in the same period last year.
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