First Example Of Jim Press Toyota Vision - SCION

March 27, 2002 - New York, NY - Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A., Inc., announced the launch of SCION during a press conference today at the 2002 New York International Auto Show. Formerly the genesis marketing group, SCION will be responsible for the launch of a new line of vehicles it plans to market to the next generation of new-car buyers. Two show-car concept vehicles displayed at the show, the bbX and ccX, offer a strong hint of the direction SCION will take with its new line of products.

"For some time, Toyota's genesis group has been carefully listening to, and studying ways, to connect with the net-generation reaching driving age and entering the car market," said Jim Press, TMS executive vice president and COO. "It's an important emerging consumer group that will total over 60 million potential customers by 2010. With SCION, Toyota is taking a major pro-active step to reach out and connect with them."

The SCION (pronounced SY-en) name is significant. Meaning descendant, or heir, the name SCION is designed to stand alone as a distinctive new line of products and a new way of doing business. Yet, it is also a name meant to convey a clear link to the Toyota-brand heritage.

"Toyota's formation of genesis in 1998 marked the beginning of a quest to connect with an emerging new buyer group in the marketplace," said Jim Lentz, TMS vice president, SCION. "SCION will act as a complement to the Toyota-brand banner by targeting an important portion of this consumer group who actively seek out the newest trends in style and innovation."

"SCION will target consumers who are well aware of, and may even covet, Toyota's strong heritage of quality," added Lentz. "But they are also consumers who require unique product concepts that are high in personal expression that can be accessed and purchased on their own terms. Although this group represents only a slice of the net-gen as a whole, its influence is substantial and therefore, extremely important. So important, that we have dedicated an all-new line of products and services that will not only attract them, but will retain them."

The SCION way of doing business will be defined by a philosophy that combines three essentials; style, versatility, and surprise. These three elements will be fundamental, not only to SCION products, but to the SCION purchase process as well.

SCION will be structured as a dealer-within-a-dealer. All Toyota dealers will be offered the opportunity to sell the SCION line. SCION products will be offered in a clearly dedicated environment. It will feature its own dedicated sales staff, but will share on-site service facilities with the Toyota brand. On-site inventories will be small. Dealers will draw from a shared inventory pool designed to ensure low-overhead costs while promoting just-in-time delivery on a regional basis.

The SCION dealer environment will be low-key and buyer-friendly. It will feature stylish décor and a polished industrial feel. It will also include highly interactive surroundings aimed at individualizing and personalizing the shopping and purchase process.

With an aim to create the promise and the reality of a truly customer-controlled atmosphere, the SCION dealer environment will allow shoppers to browse, investigate, research, or just discover SCION, entirely at their own pace. Sales people will offer assistance and guidance. However, at SCION, their role will be clearly defined as just one of the many resources available during the shopping and purchase process.

The internet will also be an important tool in this process. The SCION Web Site will be highly interactive, targeted and constantly evolving. It will invite the user to stay and explore, rewarding those who take the time to experiment with surprising discoveries. Equally important, the internet will act as a two-way conduit between buyer and seller. It will be designed as an important listening post, where customer feedback and suggestions will be closely monitored.

As with the dealer environment and the sales process, the SCION product lineup will be kept simple. All vehicles will be offered as single, fully-equipped, mono-spec models.

The SCION product lineup will reflect the style, versatility, and surprise that is the core of its business philosophy. They will be lifestyle products designed to connect on an emotional and practical level with an influential buyer base.

SCION will launch in June 2003 with two vehicles. One vehicle will be an adaptation of the bbX show car now on display at the New York International Auto Show. It is based on a vehicle currently available in Japan called the "Black Box," a vehicle marketed to Japan's youngest buyers as a melding of entertainment-art and basic transportation. The bbX is a multi-purpose concept that combines aggressive styling, expansive people and cargo-hauling capability, and a thoughtful approach to versatility.

Each of the two SCION vehicles that will be available at launch will offer an array of standard equipment including air conditioning, power windows, door locks and mirrors, six-speaker Pioneer AM/FM/CD audio system, sport seats, and many more comfort and convenience features. Each of these vehicles will carry an MSRP considerably less than $18,000.

Due to limited product volume initially, and the start-up logistics of regional inventory pooling, SCION will launch in California-only for the first eight months. After that, dealerships in the Gulf States, Southeast, Central Atlantic, and Northeast regions will be phased in. Within 12 months of the initial launch, SCION will be available nationwide. This national availability will coincide with availability of a third model. Production volume for the first three products will be approximately 100,000 units, annually.

FROM THE HORSES MOUTH- INTRODUCTION BY JIM PRESS Jim Press
SCION Announcement
New York Auto Show
March 27, 2002

 

Good afternoon and thanks for coming. I want to start off today with a pop quiz about the music we've been playing... I'm sure you recognized it.

Vote with a show of hands.

Was it from?

Z Trip? ...

Radar?...

How about Jason Bentley?...

or my favorite...Naked Music?...

Well... actually...it was a mix from all those...and...if you're like me... you didn't have a clue when you heard it. But my daughter did...and your kids probably do too.

And that's exactly the point we want to make today.

There's a new group growing up in our world that we don't know much about...

and today...Toyota is taking a major pro-active step to reach out and connect with them.

We're here to kick off an entirely new line of vehicles that will pioneer a new direction.

Its called SCION... and we have a compelling strategy to share with you.

For some time, we have been carefully listening to... and studying ways... to serve the new generation now reaching driving age and entering the car market. It's a powerful emerging consumer group that every company wants to reach.

This generation will rival baby boomers in numbers by the end of this decade. They're already having a tremendous influence on... fashion...music...media... and popular culture.

And like members of all fresh generations on the rise, they resent being studied, labeled and marketed to... so it's a daunting task to develop products and a sales approach that will ring true to them now and in the future.

We don't have all the answers...but we are asking the right questions...and we're listening carefully. And today, we're using that knowledge to launch SCION.

Our first step is to answer the burning question you all have... "What's the difference between Toyota and SCION?"

Let me start to answer that by laying out our strategy. It has three phases.

Phase One started three and a half years ago when we formed our genesis team. During this phase, we set up listening posts... conducted research... and worked on products already in Toyota's pipeline. As a result, we launched our first batch of cars with a more youthful attitude...the ECHO, the new MR2 Spyder and the 2000 Celica...and recently...the new Corolla and Matrix.

Phase Two starts today with the launch of SCION using distinctive vehicles drawn from Toyota markets around the world. These products will be specially modified for the American market and carry the SCION logo. We recognize the success of this venture is highly dependent on delivering unique vehicles. These new products will not be re-badged Toyotas. The SCION concept... and approach to product development...is built around what new customers really want.

So Phase Three...the final phase of our strategy...will bring unique new products exclusively created for SCION... with the first fully dedicated model due here in about 21 months.

We fully recognize that our dealer network...the best in the industry...is a major the key to success for SCION. As a result, we’ve consulted with a group of dealer advisors every step of the way in this process. That effort has clearly paid off in our results so far.

Our Phase One report card is very good.

We had some solid success with younger buyers when we launched our first genesis vehicles. For instance, the 2000 Celica's styling, performance and value sliced 10 years off the average age of its buyers.

We learned from that experience and applied it to the recent launch of our new Toyota Corolla and Matrix. Early indications show that they are also melting years off the average age of our buyers. Initial buyer surveys show the new Corolla sport model has a median age of 35...while the average age of those buying the high-performance Matrix XRS is 30.

And we're just getting started.

In fact, we have the youngest average age of any full-line manufacturer. Since 1997, the average American car buyer has been aging and is now two years older. Even non full-line manufacturers like Honda, Volkswagen and Mitsubishi are growing older. But at Toyota...we've stopped the clock.

We've stabilized...while the rest of the industry has been aging. So on the Toyota side we're doing a pretty good job with young new car buyers...and we'll do even better when we introduce future products.

What we’ve discovered, however, is that product success over time is often highly "generational" in nature. In other words, each new generation wants to discover their own brands and their own products rather than use the same ones their parents enjoy. We’ve all felt this as kids...and we see it now with our own daughters and sons.

SCION is about delivering that something different to a new generation. It has new products...a new culture...and a new approach to selling that is fresh and custom tailored to meet their needs. It’s a friendly portal to show trendsetters of a new generation the value of products from Toyota without betraying their instincts.

It's not about trying to be cool... or hip...or funky... it's about creating an authentic atmosphere where new drivers said they want to do business.

All of this won't be easy. In fact, I've been asked many times over the past three years why Toyota would embark on such an ambitious project so fraught with uncertainty.

The answer is... the strength of our regular lineup allows us to experiment boldly for a better tomorrow.

Will we make some mistakes?
You bet.

Will we take some criticism?
You can count on that.

And, will we be successful all the time?
No...we still have a lot to learn...and probably always will.

But as Thomas Edison said, "When there's no experimenting, there's no progress...stop experimenting and you go backward."

At Toyota...we intend to go forward...we intend to make progress...and we intend to connect with a new generation of customers. SCION is a bold step in that direction and we intend to do everything in our power to make it a success.

As I mentioned earlier, going after this important group of innovative consumers is a epic challenge. So we've assembled a SCION team that blends youthful energy with a veteran car guy.

SCION's leader...Jim Lentz...may bring the team’s age curve up a bit... but he looks at least 10 years younger than he really is...so I hired him! Jim's wealth of experience working with dealers also makes him the perfect principal for this exciting new venture.