Can Youth Save Scion?
When Scion burst onto the automotive scene via Toyota their marketing execs went heavy on youth demographics. With a low starting price in the teens - teenagers could even afford the down payment on a tC or xB. The problem with targeting a youth market is that within the course of only a few years you lose that 18 to 24 year old buzz, mostly to college loans and job hunting. A.k.a. - real life. And the next group of young Americans are hard to please, and searching for instant gratification along with the newest trends.
Scion has had trouble coming up with new designs since they started in 2003. Sales dropped 20 percent this past August, and may continue to follow downward if the “hip” car maker doesn’t begin to overhaul their line up both in look and efficiency. According to AutoWeek, “Sales, year-on-year, have dropped for 16 straight months.”
Don’t get us wrong, with an average of 23 - 25 MPG (city & highway) on their vehicles you’re not looking at the gasoline consumption of a Hummer. However, with other auto makers now reaching upwards of 40 MPG combined 25 or even 30 MPG won’t make the cut. And since today’s trend is to get from point A to B using the least amount of fuel while producing the least amount of harmful emissions, Scion may need to begin rolling out hybrid versions of their cars.
Scion knows change is coming, and we don’t mean with Obama. They plan to roll out replacements for their struggling coupe, hatchback and van models, hoping to grab the waning attention of young drivers. Replacements my only prohibit their upward crawl back to the top of a demographic. A wider variety of models is needed to entice the youth market - three car types to choose from can’t quench their thirst. Some Scion dealerships have a dozen or so cars on hand at their lot. One good sign - people who purchased first and second generation Scions are still driving them, or even moving on to purchase Toyotas, and loving every minute behind the wheel.
Scion has a couple of problems: first, most kids that actually can afford a new Scion are likely to pick up something flashier on the used market. When you’re finally earning money, you want to look like it. Second, the designs are pretty bland. 80% of the people that I see driving Scions are over 50 years old because they’re looking for an economical car to drive.
To fix the problem they need to either drastically reduce the price or they need to drastically up the style-factor. They could also take a note from technology companies and update the design every year even if the updates are cosmetic only.