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Toyota to scrap Celica, MR2 models
By Shawn Langlois, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 3:19 PM ET July 16, 2004
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SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Toyota Motor on Friday officially announced plans to discontinue its demand-starved Celica and MR2 sports cars by the end of the 2005 model year, paving the way for brands such as the Scion.
Sales figures for the two cars have been extremely low, especially when compared with the wildly popular Camry and Corolla models.
"Our dealers tell us that the volume has been so small that certain stores haven't had one of these on the lot for months and don't know when they will get any more," said Mark McCready, director of pricing strategy and market analysis at CarsDirect.com.
To put demand in perspective, Toyota in June sold 37,603 units of its best-selling Camry, compared with only 790 Celicas and 263 MR2 Spyders.
Mike Chung, pricing and market analyst at Edmunds.com, said that the market will now move toward the comparable Scion line.
"People are just beginning to realize that Scion is Toyota, and Toyota doesn't want to cannibalize their own brands," he said.
The Celica was first introduced in the U.S. in 1971 and has drawn such accolades as Motor Trend's "Import Car of the Year," one of Car and Driver's "Ten Best Cars" and Consumer Reports "Most Reliable Sporty Car."
"The past few years, however, have been very challenging for both Celica and MR2 as competition in a segment where 'what's new' dominates," Don Osmond, general manager at Toyota, explained in a statement.
Toyota's "what's new" brands include the Matrix and Corolla XRS, Solara sports coupe and the Scion XA, XB and TC, said Osmond.
Gabriel Shenhar, senior test engineer at Consumer Reports, said the announcement had been expected for a long time.
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By Shawn Langlois, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 3:19 PM ET July 16, 2004
E-mail it | Print | Alert | Reprint | RSS
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Toyota Motor on Friday officially announced plans to discontinue its demand-starved Celica and MR2 sports cars by the end of the 2005 model year, paving the way for brands such as the Scion.
Sales figures for the two cars have been extremely low, especially when compared with the wildly popular Camry and Corolla models.
"Our dealers tell us that the volume has been so small that certain stores haven't had one of these on the lot for months and don't know when they will get any more," said Mark McCready, director of pricing strategy and market analysis at CarsDirect.com.
To put demand in perspective, Toyota in June sold 37,603 units of its best-selling Camry, compared with only 790 Celicas and 263 MR2 Spyders.
Mike Chung, pricing and market analyst at Edmunds.com, said that the market will now move toward the comparable Scion line.
"People are just beginning to realize that Scion is Toyota, and Toyota doesn't want to cannibalize their own brands," he said.
The Celica was first introduced in the U.S. in 1971 and has drawn such accolades as Motor Trend's "Import Car of the Year," one of Car and Driver's "Ten Best Cars" and Consumer Reports "Most Reliable Sporty Car."
"The past few years, however, have been very challenging for both Celica and MR2 as competition in a segment where 'what's new' dominates," Don Osmond, general manager at Toyota, explained in a statement.
Toyota's "what's new" brands include the Matrix and Corolla XRS, Solara sports coupe and the Scion XA, XB and TC, said Osmond.
Gabriel Shenhar, senior test engineer at Consumer Reports, said the announcement had been expected for a long time.
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