Cramped quarters at Toyota dealerships for Scion

The runaway success of Scion is generally considered to be a boon for Toyota. The flip side of this success is how Toyota dealers will handle both brands doing extremely well. According to an article in Automotive News, many dealers are suffering more growing pains than the Seavers because of the success of their Scion and Toyota brands. Scion's dealership plan was and will continue to be dependent on an existing Toyota mother-dealership, with most Scion retail space set aside in a dedicated corner of the showroom. This arrangement is meant to provide an easy way for repeat Scion customers to transition into a Toyota, and both dealers and the company find this to be advantageous to maintain.

This combination is forcing many dealers to be creative. For instance, Michael's Toyota-Scion in Bellevue, Washington had to convert two service stalls to dedicated Scion retail space before they eventually bought a vacant grocery store to create a new location for both brands. Lewis Toyota-Scion in Topeka, Kansas is taking a different tact by possibly relocated its truck inventory and sales to a separate dealership location, leaving Scion and Toyota cars together.

We can be sure Toyota dealers will happily continue to expand and play Monopoly with their real estate holdings as long as Toyota continues to grow in the United States. It is a pretty safe bet that it will and with the potential of new Scion models in the pipeline, the youth oriented brand may also get another shot in the arm.