Some things just don’t have the lasting power. Fads like the pet rocks of the 70’s and maybe even a Furby or two simply live for the moment and then pass on unceremoniously a short time later. Automakers do this very thing to a degree, witness Yugo, Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Mercury. All had their heyday but simply lost relevance and failed to keep up.
With that notion in mind I can’t help but wonder who the next 98 pound weakling will fall by the wayside in the next year or so. That might not be as hard at you might think if you scan over the sales charts for the year and see where the gasps of life are coming from.
Suzuki and Scion come to mind as two of these bantamweights that never have seemed to have caught on.
Scion burst on to the scene as a young and hip brand focusing on style and affordability. Originally targeting the 20 something crowd they eventually ended up attracting a 50 something budget minded audience. From a peak of 89,600 YTD vehicles sales in August 2008, Scion saw sales drop 51% during Cash For Clunkers 2009 for the same time period and another 32% drop in sales so far in 2010. So far Scion has moved only 29,600 vehicles for the year, down 67% from two years ago. The end result is far from what Toyota had envisioned for the brand.
Suzuki has been in the US since the mid 80’s and encompasses a broader range of vehicles than Scion. While they have been more successful in attracting the younger buyer, they quickly move on to other brands with the next purchase. Combine the fact that fewer young adults are purchasing new cars and the very low retention rate of existing customers, you see easily see that the pool of buyers that Suzuki draws from is becoming smaller each year. The average Suzuki dealer currently sells only two vehicles a month make it increasingly difficult to attract the traffic needed for any new models to succeed. With sales down 51% to only 15,300 vehicles sold for the year Suzuki is in dire straits.
While both of these brands are failing to perform for different reasons it is clear they sum up to be the 98 pound weaklings of the US auto industry. The question is since both are down in the ring, who will throw in the towel first?
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