Is the Scion a Toyota?
Yes. Scion was a Toyota Motor Corporation brand created for the U.S. market, not an independent automaker. Toyota discontinued the Scion brand in 2016 and rebranded many of its models under the Toyota name.
Historical relationship between Scion and Toyota
Scion was introduced in 2003 by Toyota’s North American division as a separate marque aimed at younger buyers. While Scion vehicles shared Toyota engineering and platforms, the brand operated with a distinct marketing identity and, in its early years, a dedicated sales approach. In the mid-2010s, Toyota decided to retire the brand and integrate its models into the Toyota lineup, ending Scion as a standalone brand.
The following points summarize the core relationship between Scion and Toyota:
- Scion was a Toyota-owned brand intended to reach new customer segments in the United States and Canada.
- Vehicles wore the Scion badge but relied on Toyota engineering and platforms.
- The brand had its own marketing approach, and over time Toyota began folding Scion models into the Toyota lineup as part of a broader restructuring.
- The Scion brand was officially discontinued in 2016, with remaining models rebranded as Toyotas.
In short, Scion was not an independent automaker; it was a distinct brand within Toyota designed to explore niche markets in North America. Its dissolution marked a return to a single Toyota-brand strategy for the region.
Notable models and what happened after discontinuation
Here are the best-known Scion models and how they were treated once the brand ended. Some were directly rebranded, while others were retired without a one‑to‑one Toyota counterpart.
- Scion FR-S → Toyota 86 (introduced in 2017; marketed as Toyota 86 in the U.S. and GT86 in some markets). A direct rebadge of the sporty coupe.
- Scion iA → Toyota Yaris Sedan (rebadged as a Toyota model in 2017; later iterations continued under the Yaris name with Toyota branding).
- Scion iM → Toyota Corolla iM → Toyota Corolla Hatchback (the iM carried the Corolla badge and was eventually rebranded as the Corolla Hatchback in 2019–2020).
- Scion xA, xB, xD, tC → Discontinued with the brand; no direct Toyota equivalents kept under the Scion name.
These rebrandings reflected Toyota’s approach to preserving successful models while consolidating branding under the Toyota umbrella. The remaining Scion lineup, including several other early models, was phased out as part of the brand’s dissolution.
Current status and legacy
As of today, Scion exists only in historical context. There are no Scion-branded vehicles in active production, and Toyota’s U.S. lineup is exclusively Toyota-badged. The Scion experiment influenced how Toyota approached niche marketing, badge engineering, and portfolio realignment in the United States, with lessons reflected in subsequent product planning and branding decisions.
Timeline at a glance
Key milestones show how Scion evolved and was absorbed into Toyota’s broader strategy.
- 2003: Scion brand launched in the United States and Canada by Toyota Motor Sales, USA, targeting younger buyers.
- 2010s: Scion expands its lineup to include models like xA, xB, xD, tC, FR-S, iA, and iM.
- 2016: Toyota announces the discontinuation of the Scion brand and the rebranding of remaining models as Toyotas.
- 2017: FR-S becomes Toyota 86; iA becomes Toyota Yaris Sedan; iM becomes Corolla iM.
- 2019–2020: Rebranding continues, with Corolla iM evolving into the Toyota Corolla Hatchback and Yaris updates tightening the Toyota lineup.
- 2020s: No new Scion models; Scion remains a historical footnote in Toyota’s corporate history.
Ultimately, the Scion experiment ended with the brand folded into Toyota. The impact persists in how Toyota approaches niche marketing and model introductions in the North American market.
Summary
Scion was a marque owned by Toyota, created to attract a younger audience in the United States and Canada. It was not an independent automaker. The brand was retired in 2016, and several of its models were rebranded under Toyota—most notably the FR-S as the Toyota 86 and the iA/iM line evolving into Toyota Yaris and Corolla Hatchback variants. Today, Scion no longer exists as a brand, and Toyota continues to market its vehicles under the Toyota badge. The Scion era remains a notable chapter in how Toyota experimented with branding and market segmentation.
