division of toyota . for other uses see scion . scion former type division of toyota industry automotive industry fate absorbed into toyota founded june 9 2003 ; 13 years ago 2003 06 09 defunct august 5 2016 ; 2 months ago 2016 08 05 headquarters torrance california u.s. area served united states and canada key people andrew gilleland vp us 1 parent toyota website scion.com scion was a marque of toyota started in 2003 designed as an extension of its efforts to appeal towards younger customers . the scion brand primarily featured sports compact vehicles primarily badge engineered from toyota s international models a simplified pure price model and eschewed trim levels in favor of offering a single trim for each vehicle with a range of factory and aftermarket options for buyers to choose from to personalize their vehicle . the scion name meaning the descendant of a family or heir refers both to the brand s cars and their owners . 2 the brand first soft launched in the united states at selected toyota dealers in the state of california in june 2003 before expanding nationwide by february 2004 . in 2010 scion expanded into canada . in an effort to target the generation y demographic scion primarily relied on guerrilla and viral marketing techniques . scion was originally launched with promises of short product cycle and value based partly on low dealer margins which became difficult to keep as sales fell after the economic downturn . 3 on february 3 2016 toyota announced that it would shut down the scion brand in august 2016 with selected models to be re branded to be part of new toyota vehicles for the 2017 model year . 4 contents 1 history 1.1 struggles 1.2 discontinuation 2 lineup 3 pricing accessories and availability 4 post production accessories 5 release series 6 target market 7 advertising 8 sales 9 see also 10 references 11 external links history edit in 1999 toyota launched project genesis an effort to bring younger buyers to the toyota marque in the united states . 5 this project aimed to create a marque within a marque in sales and advertising strategy for compact and coupe models sold by toyota . 5 the effort which included the introduction of the toyota echo economy car along with late generation toyota mr 2 and toyota celica models was judged unsuccessful and cancelled in 2001 . 5 in response toyota chose to launch a separate marque an effort called project exodus . a los angeles based digital design company fresh machine was retained by toyota to develop the brand logo and website . this project became known as scion . 5 6 toyota had previously participated in a project in japan with other japanese companies who attempted to market products to younger buyers . toyota manufactured three vehicles under the will brandname which were exclusive to toyota netz store japanese dealerships . scion xa scion is marketed as a youth brand and was first introduced in march 2002 at the new york auto show . there were just two concept vehicles the bbx which became the xb and the ccx which became the tc . 7 the 2004 xa and xb were unveiled at the greater los angeles auto show on january 2 2003 . they were available only in 105 toyota dealerships in california at their initial launch on june 9 2003 . the subsequent rollout of the brand to the south the southeast and the east coast occurred in february 2004 . scion vehicles were available nationwide in june 2004 coinciding with the release of the 2005 tc . 2 on december 16 2006 scion unveiled the next generation xb based on the t2b concept and the new xd successor of the xa at an invitation only no camera event in miami . both cars were then publicly unveiled on february 8 2007 at the chicago auto show . 8 scion hako concept in september 2010 scion expanded into canada with vehicles offered at 45 selected dealers starting in toronto montreal and vancouver followed by other cities . launch models included the tc xd and xb . 9 the first new scions were shown in canada at the 2009 montreal international auto show . struggles edit sales of the scion brand were down to a low of 45 678 for the 2010 model year compared to over 170 000 for 2006 . the management tried to resuscitate the brand hoping to sell 35 000 to 45 000 tc in a year after the model was redesigned for 2011 . 10 the iq s sales have dropped more than 60 % from 2012 and the xd s sales are projected to be under 9 000 for 2013 . in late 2013 toyota announced that toyota dealers can drop the flagging scion marque without penalty though this could be a step away from the previous penalties of not adhering to the pure price policy within scion . citation needed clarification needed in 2015 scion released the im hatchback based on the international toyota auris . 11 and the ia sedan based on the mazda demio . 12 at the same time the iq xb and xd were discontinued . 12 discontinuation edit on february 3 2016 toyota announced that the scion brand would be phased out after the 2016 model year . the fr s ia and im will be re badged as toyota models toyota 86 yaris ia and corolla im respectively 13 for the 2017 model year while the tc will be discontinued entirely . the upcoming c hr will be also rebranded as a toyota . the change is not expected to cause disruption to service options as scion models were sold and serviced at toyota dealerships . 4 14 12 the scion fr s will be renamed as the toyota 86 in north america instead of toyota fr s as was initially reported . 15 16 17 lineup edit scion tc scion iq scion currently has five models the second generation tc a 3 door liftback based on the european marketed toyota avensis sedan ; the second generation xb a 5 door box shaped compact wagon sold as the toyota corolla rumion in the japanese market ; the iq an ultra compact city car first going on sale in the western united states in december 2011 ; 18 the xd a 5 door subcompact car that is sold in japan as the second generation toyota ist which is based on the yaris platform with the tenth generation corolla s engine ; 19 and a rear wheel drive sport car the fr s. in april 2012 jack hollis vice president of scion announced that the xb and xd will be dropped after 2012 supposedly in favor of all new models from toyota s hatchback division daihatsu . 20 21 in the meantime scion will focus its sales heavily on the iq passenger car and the fr s sports coupe alongside the second generation tc . as of april 2013 update both the canadian and us scion websites continued to sell the xb and xd with mild facelifts . 22 scion announced in june 2015 that the xb would be dropped from the lineup 23 presumably to make way for the forthcoming im hatchback . on february 3 2016 toyota announced that it would discontinue the scion brand in august 2016 with selected models to be re branded as toyota vehicles for the 2017 model year . scion xa my 2004 2006 replaced by the xd scion xb my 2004 2015 20 21 generation 1 my 2004 2006 generation 2 my 2008 2015 scion tc my 2005 2016 24 generation 1 my 2005 2010 generation 2 my 2011 2016 scion xd my 2008 2014 20 21 scion iq my 2012 2015 scion fr s my 2013 2016 rebranded as toyota 86 for the 2017 model year . scion ia my 2016 rebranded as toyota yaris ia for the 2017 model year . scion im my 2016 rebranded as toyota corolla im for the 2017 model year . pricing accessories and availability edit scion uses sales tools such as pure price and monospec trim levels with a wide selection of factory and trd accessories . 25 extensive market research and testing with generation y consumers formed the basis of the scion badge . scion xb toyota bb pure price means that the price posted whether on the vehicle in an advertisement or on a menu display board in the dealership is the price customers will pay . this includes vehicles accessories finance and insurance products . 26 pure price is designed to ensure a shorter and simpler process eliminating all negotiation though it is commonly seen that dealers will sometimes add aftermarket accessories to the car in order to mark them up and increase profit on the sale . the concept aims to be open and consistent to all customers . the concept is not new to the american market having been introduced in the early 1990s by the geo and saturn marques of general motors . 27 scion s sales approach thus differs greatly from that of the larger toyota entity . in the united states for instance the toyota camry is offered with four different trim levels intended for different crowds budget conscious mainstream sports oriented and luxury ; 28 all scions in contrast have only one standard trim level monospec and are designed to be uniquely customized for the driver . 27 post production accessories edit aftermarket customized scion tc scion offers about 150 different accessories ; 29 other after market companies through the opt mize scion program offer to add other accessories as well . 30 for example one can add a subwoofer as well as different types of decals . the tc had offered an optional supercharger to increase power from 161 to 200 hp 120 to 150 kw but this option was since discontinued in 2007 due to early failure of the bearings inside the centrifugal blower . citation needed all accessories are sold individually and do not require special packages . however some options such as ground effects do prevent other accessories such as mud flaps from being installed . companies that participate in the opt mize scion program include greddy obx r zo a few car detailing companies and others . 31 release series edit beginning in the second quarter of 2004 with the launch of the 2004 scion xb rs 1.0 release series 1.0 followed by the scion xa rs 1.0 scion decided to create limited edition vehicles pre packaged with exclusive accessories in limited quantities . 32 limited edition vehicles from a marketing standpoint were used to create a buzz for the brand name with their exterior colors tending to be loud or bright hues e.g. orange yellow red blue green . 33 because of the growing popularity of the scion product line and the scarce production runs most dealers only get 2 3 of each rs model these limited edition vehicles quickly sold out . pre ordering is available at each dealership on a first come first served basis . to the customer s benefit scion s pure price msrp bounds dealerships against market demand vehicle mark up . 26 naturally resale values of release series vehicles command a premium because of their packaged options and scarcity . 34 scion xb rs 1.0 2004 xb rs 1.0 only available in hot lava orange with 2100 units produced 504 units w 5spd 1596 units w automatic 35 xa rs 1.0 only available in absolutely red with 1550 units produced 32 2005 xb rs 2.0 only available in solar yellow with 2500 units produced 36 xa rs 2.0 only available in spectra blue mica with 1700 units produced 37 tc rs 1.0 only available in absolutely red with 2500 units produced 38 scion tc rs 1.0 2006 xb rs 3.0 only available