Toyota to Stop Selling Celica, MR2

Toyota Motor Corp. said Friday that it would stop selling the Celica coupe, a sports car that has been in its U.S. lineup since 1971, and the MR2 Spyder convertible because of slumping sales.

The cars will be discontinued after the 2005 models, the company’s Torrance-based U.S. unit said. The Celica and the MR2, which debuted in 1985, together accounted for less than 1% of the 1 million cars and trucks Toyota sold in the U.S. in the first half of 2004.

Toyota, the largest Asian automaker, last redesigned both the Celica and the MR2 for the 2000 model year. Buyers of such relatively low-cost sports cars tend to be younger people more interested in the newest vehicles, spokesman John Hanson said.

Celica’s U.S. sales fell to 14,856 last year from 52,406 in 2000, and MR2 sales declined to 2,934 from 7,233 in the same period. In this year’s first half, sales dropped 33% for the Celica and rose 5.4% for the MR2. Toyota’s total in the U.S. increased 11% this year, helped by gains for the Prius gasoline-electric hybrid car and Sienna minivan.

“The market for cheap, entry-level sports cars is fundamentally small; it’s shrinking and not very profitable,” said Jim Hossack, an analyst at consulting firm AutoPacific Inc. in Tustin. “It’s a prudent business move. They’re focusing on the winners and eliminating losers.”

The Celica two-door coupe sells for $18,000 to $25,000, and the MR2 convertible costs about $25,000, according to Toyota’s website.

Toyota last year began selling Scion-brand small cars, which it markets to buyers in their 20s.