Toyota expects its redesigned tC coupe to double sales and revive Scion
By Andrew, 16 Sep, 2010. 0 Comments
2011 Scion tC Coupe
The redesigned Scion tC coupe from Toyota is expected to double sales and to revive the youth-centered brand, according to Scion’s vice president Jack Hollis who spoke during a media briefing at Oakland University in suburban Detroit. Scion has set a target in 2011 to sell 35,000 to 45,000 of its coupes.
Sales had peaked in 2006 with 79,125 units. In 2009, Scion sold 18,000 tCs, a 56% drop from the year before. Bloomberg News reported that last March, Hollis had forecast sales of 40,000 to 50,000 in 2011. Scion has high expectations for the redesigned tC, which will arrive in showrooms on Oct. 1. The tC has accounted for about 40% of Scion's overall sales since it was launched six years ago.
Coupe sales have continued to drop this year, with a 36% drop through August, to 8,848 vehicles. Nonetheless, Hollis claims that the decrease in sales is typical for a sporty subcompact car this late in its product life cycle. He also believes that another factor is the unemployment rate (nearly double the 9.6% national average) in the tC’s core demographic whose median age is 26. He said t that the company is hoping that unemployment will drop at the start of next year.
Introduced at the New York auto show last April, the second-generation Scion tC coupe is powered by a 2.5-liter engine that has 19hp more hp when compared to the previous version. With the six-speed manual transmission, accelerating from zero to 60mph takes 7.6 seconds while with the six-speed automatic, it will take about 8.3 seconds. The tC's track has also been widened and its floor was lowered for improved handling and to have added brake assist, vehicle stability control as well as other safety features. The manual variant of the tC is priced from $18,995 while the automatic version is priced from $19,995. The cost of shipping is included in these prices, which are almost $1,200 higher than the outgoing model’s prices. [via autonews - sub. required]
Latest Auto Shows
