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Scion gets youthful makeover
Toyota uses offbeat marketing and loads of optional accessories to reach younger buyers.
Christine Tierney / The Detroit News
Toyota Motor Corp. will refresh the lineup of its youth-oriented Scion brand next year with two new models, which will go on display Feb. 8 in Chicago.
Toyota will unveil the next Scion xB and an all-new Scion xD at a news conference at the Chicago Auto Show. It will exhibit the vehicles simultaneously in the Scion City domain of Second Life, an online virtual world with 1.2 million users.
Both vehicles will be 2008 models but Toyota declined to specify when they would go on sale.
The Japanese automaker sold 173,034 Scion vehicles in the United States in 2006, an 11 percent increase over the previous year.
Toyota set modest sales targets when it launched its Scion brand in 2003, focusing mainly on getting acquainted with young customers and their preferences.
By contrast with the mainstream Toyota and premium Lexus brands, Scion has a strict no-haggling pricing policy. The most expensive vehicle in the range is the tC coupe with automatic transmission, priced at $17,200.
Toyota offers a vast range of accessories and options to allow owners to customize the vehicles. The automaker also reaches out to Scion buyers using off-beat approaches, such as concerts, exhibits and activities for owners.
"One of the biggest things they've achieved is a new level of grass-roots marketing," said Stephen Lovett, director of client development at consulting firm Harris Interactive in Ann Arbor.
Currently, the top seller in the Scion lineup is the tC coupe, but the original boxy xB -- a rebadged vehicle taken from Toyota's lineup in Japan -- was a hit when it was introduced in 2003. Its successor has retained the boxy silhouette.
"When you take a look at the youth market, being new and fresh is important," Lovett said.
You can reach Christine Tierney at (313) 222-1463 or [email protected].
LINK: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070123/AUTO01/701230338/1148
Toyota uses offbeat marketing and loads of optional accessories to reach younger buyers.
Christine Tierney / The Detroit News
Toyota Motor Corp. will refresh the lineup of its youth-oriented Scion brand next year with two new models, which will go on display Feb. 8 in Chicago.
Toyota will unveil the next Scion xB and an all-new Scion xD at a news conference at the Chicago Auto Show. It will exhibit the vehicles simultaneously in the Scion City domain of Second Life, an online virtual world with 1.2 million users.
Both vehicles will be 2008 models but Toyota declined to specify when they would go on sale.
The Japanese automaker sold 173,034 Scion vehicles in the United States in 2006, an 11 percent increase over the previous year.
Toyota set modest sales targets when it launched its Scion brand in 2003, focusing mainly on getting acquainted with young customers and their preferences.
By contrast with the mainstream Toyota and premium Lexus brands, Scion has a strict no-haggling pricing policy. The most expensive vehicle in the range is the tC coupe with automatic transmission, priced at $17,200.
Toyota offers a vast range of accessories and options to allow owners to customize the vehicles. The automaker also reaches out to Scion buyers using off-beat approaches, such as concerts, exhibits and activities for owners.
"One of the biggest things they've achieved is a new level of grass-roots marketing," said Stephen Lovett, director of client development at consulting firm Harris Interactive in Ann Arbor.
Currently, the top seller in the Scion lineup is the tC coupe, but the original boxy xB -- a rebadged vehicle taken from Toyota's lineup in Japan -- was a hit when it was introduced in 2003. Its successor has retained the boxy silhouette.
"When you take a look at the youth market, being new and fresh is important," Lovett said.
You can reach Christine Tierney at (313) 222-1463 or [email protected].
LINK: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070123/AUTO01/701230338/1148