Scion’s exhibit at the New York International Auto Show was a tribute to the brand. Visitors, however, treated it more like a funeral as most goers opted to skip the section of a brand that’s going to be killed off at the end of the year.
To those unfamiliar, Scion is a marque under Toyota that started in 2003. The Japanese giant hoped to use to market to younger customers particularly in the US. Its lineup included rebranded makes from both European and Asian markets. Even the Toyota FT-86 was sold as the Scion FR-S.
Unfortunately for Toyota, the Scion badge attracted few customers with models selling lower units on a year-by-year basis. Last month, Toyota announced that it will be selling off the last of the Scion badge cars as 2016 models.
Starting 2017, all new releases are expected to be sold under the Toyota name. Even the CH-R concept will be sold under the Toyota name once it comes out.
Toyota will continue to service Scion cars under Toyota dealerships.