automotive

TrueCar: Scion Brand Still Tops With Gen Y

Scion

What auto brands are likely to appeal to younger buyers? What's the next hip auto brand, in other words, for 18-27 year olds, a/k/a Generation Y? It's not Toyota and that's no surprise. After all, the company created the Echo to try to reach younger buyers with something different. That didn't work, but it set up Scion, Toyota's offering for customizing kids. It worked.

Scion has, almost since inception, had the youngest buyers in the business. A new study by TrueCar says the company still has its mojo. The study, which is based on purchase behavior of more than four million car buyers in 2009 and 2010, gave Scion, Mitsubishi and Mazda the nod as the auto brands with the highest concentration of under-27 buyers.

Jesse Toprak, head of industry analysis at TrueCar, says Gen Y buyers set trends via social media. He tells Marketing Daily that younger buyers aren't loyal already to certain auto brands, so they are an opportunity for undiscovered brands or newcomers to the auto market. "More than any other segment, they are the least loyal and they tend to think the newcomer is cool. Generally, it is much easier to crack that demo than any demographic," he says.

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Per TrueCar data for 2009 and 2010, Scion had 21.2% of Gen Y buyers, Mitsubishi 20.3%, and Mazda 10.7%. Nissan was fourth with 9.8% of buyers 27 or under. After that came VW, Kia, Hyundai, Honda, Toyota and Subaru. On a model basis, Generation Y buyers opted for vehicles that were good for customizing or that made the experience easier: Scion tC, Mitsubishi Lancer and Honda Civic Si lead.

"[Scion] targeted its vehicles from the outset to Gen Y, from styling and customization standpoint. It's a brand that was completely marketed and sold to that age group, and they succeeded," says Toprak, adding that the fact that the list also includes vehicles that weren't marketed to youth and are not inherently "exciting" or especially customizable, "like Ford Focus and Toyota Corolla," because they are relatively inexpensive and suggest the influence parents have on purchase decisions. "It's parent influence, price point, overall value and styling, and high customization and good integration of technology. Those are the things that matter," he says.

Toyota Yaris, Ford Focus couple, Scion xD, Volkswagen GLI, Subaru Impreza, Kia Forte and Toyota Corolla were the other vehicles in the top-ten list of cars purchased by Gen Y.

While Toyota may have a high concentration of young consumers, they may have to wait, as supply issues have had a continued grip on inventory. Scion posted June sales of 3,456 units, down 14.8% over June 2010. The tC sports coupe led the way with sales of 2,053 units, an increase of 73.6 percent year-over-year. The xD reported sales of 575 units, and the xB urban utility vehicle posted June sales of 828 units.

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