Toyota's Scion to add first sedan to struggling lineup

Toyota Motor Corp.’s struggling Scion brand will add a sedan to its lineup for the first time as it battles slumping U.S. sales.

The sedan will be introduced in April at the New York auto show along with the all-new Scion iM five-door hatchback, the brand said in a statement today. Scion also said iM would be the official name for the production version of the iM Concept car shown at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November.

Both cars will go on sale this year in the United States.

"It will be in dealers this year, and yes, they are excited," Scion spokeswoman Nancy Hubbell said in an e-mail.

The vehicles represent two of the three new models Scion says it will bring to market in the next three years, aiming to capture more buyers in the 18- to 34-year-old bracket.

Scion offered no details about the upcoming sedan. Automotive News has previously reported that the car will be a derivative of the Mazda2 compact made in Salamanca, Mexico. It may arrive as early as this summer as a replacement for the xD hatchback.

“With the iM hatchback and our first sedan, we’re inviting drivers to re-imagine what they can accomplish with a Scion,” Scion Group Vice President Doug Murtha said in the statement. “Both new models will stand out in the marketplace for their style and substance.”

Scion is looking to bolster its aging lineup amid tumbling volume. U.S. sales slumped 15 percent to 58,009 vehicles last year, despite the overall market’s 6 percent increase. The slump made Scion the second-biggest loss leader by brand for the year, behind a 16 percent drop at BMW’s Mini.

The 11-year-old brand’s U.S. fortunes have been waning.

Sales fell to 45,678 units in 2010 after peaking at 173,034 units in 2006. In November 2013, Toyota President Akio Toyoda urged U.S. dealers to be patient for “a few years” as the company prepared new product.