By 2010, Gen Y will account for approximately one-quarter of all vehicle sales, Farley said. Ten years later, they will make up 40 percent of the car sales--roughly 6.5 million units in a 16-million vehicle market.
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| Scion is aimed at the Gen Y segment that would respect Toyota's quality, but eschew its normal entry-level cars, like the Corolla. (Photo: Toyota) |
Gen Yers like to discover brands at their own pace and demand "authenticity," stressing that things need to be "real," Farley said. They treasure relationships with family and friends.
Scion is aimed at the Gen Y segment that would respect Toyota's quality, but askew its normal entry-level cars, like the Corolla, he said. Toyota, meanwhile, will continue reaching for mainstream youth.
"We're not trying to hide that Scion is made by Toyota," Farley noted. Rather, it is a unique set of vehicles, based on the company's new basic car platform developed in 1999 that includes the Toyota Yaris 3-door model that is sold in Europe and soon in Mexico and Canada (as the Echo Hatchback), the Toyota Echo 4-door sedan in the U.S., and four models in Japan.
Scion, however, has a powertrain that has been made for American drivers and roads, with an exterior that expresses young American fashion and earthy, dark and cool colors and a dark gray interior that expresses a "fashionable, sophisticated, sporty" with "upscale" touches, Farley said.