Scion: Three New Models in Three Years Planned as iM Unveiled

LOS ANGELES – Toyota’s Scion brand, long starved for new models, will debut three new ones in three years, it says at the Los Angeles auto show.

One of those models will be a production version of the iM concept being unveiled here today. The car, based on the Toyota Auris compact hatchback from Europe, is due in 2015.

“We plan to bring three new products in three years to our showrooms, offering a variety of exciting options for current and new Scion customers,” says Scion Vice President Doug Murtha in a statement released ahead of today’s press conference.

Scion says the production iM will be unwrapped at the 2015 New York auto show alongside another new unnamed Scion.

No word on when the third model will be first glimpsed.

Scion’s current lineup is old and older, with the xB and xD last all-new in 2007, the tC coupe having last been fully revised in 2010, and the iQ minicar launched in 2011.

Only the FR-S sports car, a joint development with Subaru, is relatively new, on the market for 2 ½ years.

The lack of new product has impacted the brand’s sales greatly in the U.S.

Scion’s gone from a record 173,034 U.S. sales in 2006 to 50,285 this year through October, down 14.8% from a year ago.

Former Scion VP Jack Hollis told WardsAuto in spring 2012 that returning to 100,000 sales a year was a goal for the brand, one that now seems feasible with the new product due.

Scion isn’t saying much about the iM, with full specifications to be released in concert with the production model’s debut.

The brand says the concept’s look “communicates its sporty handling and racing inspiration” via a wide stance, low ride height, front and rear overhangs and other design features such as geometric grille inserts and 19-in. forged alloy wheels.

The wheels are stopped by vented rotors with 4-piston front calipers.

The iM concept, with the i standing for “individuality, intriguing and a good fit for a customer’s income” and the M for “modern, multifaceted and magnetic,” is fitted with an adjustable-height suspension.

Fuel economy for the car is claimed to be “excellent,” with handling sporty and parking easy.

The iM concept unwrapped today is painted “Incrediblue” with gunmetal and matte silver accents.

While Scion officials have spoken in the past about not pricing models too low, so as not to attract the wrong type of buyer for the brand, it says the production iM could begin below $20,000 to entice “youthful customers.”

In the U.K., the Auris begins at £13,995 ($21,883). It has a choice of four engines: a 99-hp 1.3L 4-cyl., a 90-hp 1.4L diesel 4-cyl., a 132-hp 1.6L 4-cyl., and a 136-hp 1.8L hybrid, and manual or automatic transmissions.

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