Is Toyota Killing its Scion Brand?
The Scion iA became popular with drivers after its release last year
As I was getting ready for work this morning, I received a text message from fellow editor Rebecca with a link to a story about Toyota disbanding its hip, budget-friendly Scion brand. Both of us immediately wondered if it was true, but further searching around the interwebz suggested that it really might be happening. According to the article on MotorTrend, a journalist named BJ Killeen from a website called CarBuzzard.com broke the story of Scion employees being briefed Tuesday before an official announcement Wednesday.
Scion planned to release the C-HR concept as a production vehicle
Okay, so Scion’s sales haven’t been spectacular when compared with other brands, even with the introduction of the iA and iM last year. But this seems so sudden, especially given that the brand was planning to release a production version of the C-HR concept shown at the LA Auto Show. The concept car was proudly on show at Toyota’s NAIAS display last month, and we fully expected to see it in Chicago next week. If you were a Toyota bigwig planning on discontinuing an entire line of vehicles, would you be parading them around at the country’s biggest auto shows and making promises of things to come?
So forgive me if I am a little skeptical of BJ Killeen, whose website, incidentally, gives a database error every time I try to access it. Supposedly, there will be an official announcement from Toyota later this morning, but in my mind the jury is still out on just what that statement will say.
News Source: MotorTrend
Catherine Hiles (she/her) is a native Brit living and working in Dayton, Ohio. Cat has written about a variety of subjects, including finance, cars, and parenting. She is a frequent contributor to Dayton Mom Collective, The Penny Hoarder, and WDW Magazine.
Cat lives with her husband, their two kids, and their energetic pitbull mix. She counts running, lifting weights, walking, and reading among her hobbies. See more articles by Cat.