Scion will add fourth vehicle

Scion plans to expand its model line from three vehicles to four.

Also, Scion Vice President Jack Hollis said: "Within the next two years, we will have a replacement tC" coupe.

The tC coupe will be nearly 7 years old when the redesign arrives, but such a long life cycle will not be the norm for Scion in the next decade.

"It will be different for each model," Hollis said at the Detroit auto show in January. "There are some that are going to be short. There are going to be three- to four-year life cycles. There are going to be some four to five, maybe five to six."

The Scion xA was sold for 30 months, then dropped.

"What we are looking at is: How can we add something fresh to the marketplace every year?" Hollis said.

He said Scion will have its fourth model in place in two to three years. Today it offers three models: the five-door xB hatchback, five-door xD and the tC coupe. Last year Scion sold 113,904 vehicles in the United States, down 12.5 percent from 2007.

"We think there are a lot of opportunities for a [second] coupe," Hollis said. "We think there is room for a bigger sedan and smaller vehicles. We think there is even a possibility for a truck-based vehicle with an open bed."

At the New York auto show last year, Scion unveiled the Hako Coupe concept, which shows the styling direction Scion could take if a coupe is the fourth model.

"There are not a lot of coupe entries," Hollis said. But, he said, the tC shows "how people are attracted to a good-value coupe."

By Rick Kranz- Automotive News