Introduction/Objective: Team 1 selected the short case study of CarMax vs. AutoNation vs. ZAG, (De Wit, & Meyer, 2010). Each member of the team reviewed the selected reading to identify the changes in the business model, convergence, compliance and the paradox within the case study. This case study was brief, but very informative and provided an excellent example of the effects that business model change can have on the automotive industry. By challenging industry rules tension was noted, therefore forcing the competition to conform to new standards through compliance or choice of redirection. Breaking industry rules can actually be beneficial in establishing a competitive edge against the competition. According to the authors, De Wit &
This was noted as a bold endeavor with a substantial amount of risk. Tom Folliard, the CEO of CarMax used innovation to redirect the current trend of standard practices, (De Wit, & Meyer, 2010). Through expansion, CarMax provided a wide variety of automotive brands to their customers, not limiting their sales to only a few makes and models, (De Wit, & Meyer, 2010). CarMax also eliminated the past practices of pressure sales by establishing fixed prices. The Team agreed that CarMax had gained a competitive edge in the market by catering to the consumer through a variety of products with set prices and no sales pressure. AutoNation CEO, Wayne Huizenga was noted as quite the entrepreneur with an initial focus on Waste Management and Block Buster Videos, an example of fragmented industry, (De Wit, & Meyer, 2010). This diversity definitely has its advantages, but can lead to misdirection regarding sustainability in one industry. The team noted similarities between the CEO’s regarding their creativity and defiance of industry rules. As the team compared the different strategies of CarMax and AutoNation, we noticed two different methods of application, each were effective yet differed in application. In a bold move, AutoNation, under new CEO Mike Jackson, followed the CarMax strategy of implementing set prices and eliminating high-pressure sales, (De Wit, & Meyer, 2010). Through creative thinking, AutoNation improved upon their practices by implementing Smart Choice software, which enhanced customer satisfaction by reducing transaction times, (De Wit, & Meyer, 2010). AutoNation captured the competitive edge over CarMax by catering to the automotive manufactures with a focus on brand versus variety, (De Wit, & Meyer, 2010). The
Taming the wildest of these bucking broncos is not for the faint of heart as certain iterations of these freaks of nature pack more than the combined power of 500 of their animal name sakes. With such ridiculous levels of performance, clearly geared at a small percentage of owners capable of controlling such ferocity, Ford and Chevy are left with the daunting task of developing a marketing strategy that attracts a larger consumer base capable of profiting from an otherwise niche product. The strategies employed by both manufacturers encompass many similar aspects both of which ultimately convey a similar...
Charles Hughes, president and CEO of Land Rover North America (LRNA), and his executive committee want to expand LRNA’s reach within North America. Based on the growing strength of the U.S. SUV market, research which suggests consumers are seeking vehicles that can help them have “experiences” while being practical, safe, reliable and luxurious, the success of the Discovery in the U.K. and near doubling of the Land Rover brand worldwide, LNRA is seeking to become the “world’s premier 4x4 specialty company” through effective brand, product and retail strategies. LNRA’s success hinges on making the correct positioning, marketing mix and retailing decisions.
Offering consumers access to an extensive inventory online along with warranties, service, financing, appraisals, and add the consumer’s ability to sell the car to the dealership is CarMax’s brand. CarMax needs to continue to leverage their competitive strengths while making sure they offer the best-priced cars to the very competitive used car buying consumer. While it may be attractive to CarMax to enter new car market, they risk losing the ability to conduct their business model as manufacturers have various rules and contract requirements to carry the Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, Honda, or Toyota product lines. With this, they risk losing their brand recognition and identity with their consumers. Additionally, costs associated with buying an existing dealership with inventory and various licensing and franchising fees have the potential to drive up costs and therefore threaten their ability to price
Carmax, the largest used-vehicle retailer in the U.S., will be reporting 4Q2016 earnings early tomorrow morning. Expectations for the firm have been raised, but that does not necessarily mean a solid earnings report will help the stock. Over the past year, Carmax shares have plummeted 30%.
This paper will explore points in a Washington Post article titled, "Ford Strives to Meet Hybrid Demand" and explain why changes occurred in its supply, demand, and price of hybrid vehicles. The supplier in this article, Ford Motor Company, has experienced a recent spike in the demand for hybrid vehicles, which will likely continue to increase. The spike has made it difficult for suppliers to meet the demand of its hybrid vehicles.
Portfolio Project: Tesla Motors Case Study Tesla Motors (Tesla), founded in 2003 by Elon Musk, is an automotive company focused on enhancing Electric Vehicle market by creating optimum performance, all electric, vehicles for every class of consumer (Tesla Motors, 2015). In order to achieve such ambitious goals, Tesla Motors not only designs, but also manufactures, and personally sells the company’s electric vehicles (Hirsch, 2015). As additional quality assurance, Tesla Motors also designs, manufactures, and sells, electric vehicle power-train components, and battery products (Hirsch, 2015). Yet, despite the pivotal role Tesla’s self curated products play in the success of Tesla’s vehicles, the socially responsible company does not privatize Apart from Musk’s concise vision statement Tesla has a truly inspiring mission statement, “At the core, Tesla Motors believes that electric cars should not be perceived as a sacrificial mode of transportation. Tesla Motors has brought the best of both the automotive and technological worlds together by permanently etching the image of electric cars being a step backwards in performance, efficiency, and design” (Tesla Motors, Chiefly, and most apparently, it is the goal of Tesla Motor to generate demand for Tesla vehicles (Andrade, Holloway, Payne, Roy & Sheffield, 2015).
The majority of people, especially in America, cannot go about their daily lives without a car. Automobiles have instilled themselves in peoples’ lives and shown their usefulness since their debut in 1769. Since then, humans have redesigned and refined the automobile thousands of times, each time making the vehicle more efficient and economical than before. Now as the world approaches an ethical decision to dwarf all others, many people look toward automotives for yet another change. The emergence of the hypercar due to ecological turmoil exemplifies the change the world has demanded. Hypercars alter everything people know about automotives, modern ecology, and fuel efficiency. Not only do hypercars offer a solution to many ecological problems humans are faced with now, they also represent the only logical area for the automotive industry, and by some stretch American society, to expand.
the demands of a smarter, savior consumer. The growth of the used car field has
The central issue that (Albright, 2008, pp. 1) intends to bring out in the case study is how a company like Mercedes-Benz can overcome problems of a diminishing market share and high production costs to ultimately increase their vehicle sales by developing new vehicle models, that are targeted at emerging market segments and niches while ensuring that the product development costs are minimized. As a result of the great recession of the early 1990s, Mercedes made losses for the first time in its history. There was thus a need to develop a new strategy to overturn the results and get back to its profitability making history.
Ford’s production plants rely on very high-tech computers and automated assembly. It takes a significant financial investment and time to reconfigure a production plant after a vehicle model is setup for assembly. Ford has made this mistake in the past and surprisingly hasn’t learned the valuable lesson as evidence from the hybrid revolution their missing out on today. Between 1927 and 1928, Ford set in motion their “1928 Plan” of establishing worldwide operations. Unfortunately, the strategic plan didn’t account for economic factors in Europe driving the demand for smaller vehicles. Henry Ford established plants in Europe for the larger North American model A. Their market share in 1929 was 5.7% in England and 7.2% in France (Dassbach, 1988). Economic changes can wreak havoc on a corporation’s bottom line and profitability as well as their brand.
Another strategy used by BMW to differentiate itself from other automakers in the market is the proactive usage of technology and innovativeness in the development of products. From the early 1990’s, BMW has been on the forefront of incorporating technology in its designs in line with the technological advances of the modern world. This has led to the creation of inventive products. The uniqueness of these auto products put BMW in a position of advantage. The development of the hydrogen car as early as 2000 was an indicator of the company’s innovative strategy. In addition, the company also presents itself as environment friendly creating a whole range of vehicles in this category. This is a differentiation strategy meant to boost the company’s image and reputation amongst customers. In addition, this gives the environment conscious customers a variety of products to choose from giving BMW an upper hand in the industry.
After a period of continuing growth, the stagnant sales growth of the automotive industry in the late 1970s led all car makers to start to look for methods to fit the new climate. With the purpose of using money on research and development more effectively, spreading the risk of making main components in greater volume, and accessing to new market which were hard to enter, more and more automobile producers reached to the conclusion of collaborating with others. In addition, to remain independent, joint venture seemed to be the best answer. (Campbell, Stonehouse & Houston 2002)
Toyota’s uses both differentiation and low cost as generic strategies to try and gain a competitive advantage over their competitors in the automotive industry. The market scope that Toyota uses is a broad one that encompasses nearly every type of customer that is in the market to purchase an automobile. Toyota is able to target such a large market because they have something for everyone. Toyota has four wheel drive trucks and SUVs for the outdoor types or those who live in areas that face severe weather conditions, hybrid models like the Prius for the eco-friendly customers that are interested in saving the environment, along with the standard cars for general, everyday use. Additionally, Toyota provides vehicles for all price ranges.
(4) Abel, Ivan, Maali Ashamalla, and Robert Camp. Competitiveness of the US Automotive Industry: Past, Present, and Future. Rep. 2nd ed. Vol. 10. Indiana: American Society for Competitiveness, 2010. Print.
The global company Mercedes-Benz is considered one of the most successful and well-known automotive companies worldwide. Since 1886, the company’s founders Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz made history with the invention of the automobile, including the Daimler Group, which is one the biggest producers of premium cars and the world’s biggest manufacturer of commercial vehicles globally (Daimler, 2013). Their main focus is innovation, safety, technology, style, brand image, expansion, and superior automobiles by offering the best of the best to consumers worldwide. The brand’s philosophy is to continuously create radically new products to advance the cause of human mobility. It is also the number one luxury brand in the United States and Germany while continuously expanding in China and Russia as well (Interbrand, 2013). Mercedes-Benz has a great selection on divisions such as cars, trucks, vans, buses, and financial services offered to any consumer or business. Their global reach has increased tremendously by including production facilities in 17 countries on five continents and having 93 locations worldwide. As a pioneer of automotive engineering, their strategy is to continue the same pioneer role with the ongoing development of mobility, especially in the areas of safety and sustainability (Daimler, 2013). It is very essential for the company to focus on consumers’ needs and their highly well known brand in a competitive global economy. That is why the company Mercedes-Benz releases a brand new model every year to stay on top of its competitors by improving previous models. Some strategies practiced are global marketing, global product development, global product pricing, global advertising, global distribution, an...