MS-11 Question 4

Identify a company of your choice from automobile industry. Try to analyze the company’s industry environment from an international perspective.

THE CAR COMPANY, I HAVE SELECTED IS ''VOLVO''THE SWEDISH CAR MANUFACTURER FROM SWEDEN.
YOU MAY ASK ''WHY'', BECAUSE I WORKED WITH THE COMPANY FOR 6 YEARS.
THE VOLVO company manufactures passenger vehicles/ wagons/trucks/ heavy duty vehicles/BUSES/ penta marine engines/ construction machines.
HERE WE WILL FOCUS ONLY ON ''PASSENGER VEHICLES''.OF THE LUXURY SEGMENT.
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A luxury vehicle is a relatively expensive vehicle that includes additional features designed to increase the comfort of the driver and passengers. Luxury vehicles usually place more emphasis on comfort, appearance, and amenities such as technological upgrades and higher quality materials than on performance, economy, or utility. Luxury vehicles are often built in smaller numbers than more affordable mass-market vehicles. Luxury vehicles are historically 5 or 6-passenger four-door sedans. Recently the term "luxury" has been stapled onto other vehicles, including coupés, hatchbacks, station wagons, roadsters, and even trucks, such as light pickup trucks or sport utility vehicles.General definition While defining what constitutes a "luxury car" is somewhat subjective, guidelines such as price, design, comfort, and prestige can be used to help define the term. Luxury cars also offer a higher degree of comfort than their mainstream counterparts as well as a highly sumptuous interior with a strong emphasis on design and beauty. Features such as interior leather and polished "woodgrain-look" dashboards are common amenities.Luxury cars typically carry prestige, which means the allure that the car carries. Some automakers develop luxury or halo vehicle from their mass production models by product differentiation, effective marketing mix modifications (particularly by charging a higher price for relatively minor changes and use of more up-market advertising), and buyer driven market segmentation through product placement. As a result, "luxury" is sometimes only in the perception of the consumers.As well, there are vehicles with luxury car-like prestige and/or pricing that do not offer the degree of comfort required for them to actually be considered luxury vehicles, such as the Hummer H1, the Chevrolet Corvette and the Dodge Viper.Many high priced prestige vehicles, such as the Porsche 911, Alfa Romeo GTV, most Ferraris and many Lamborghinis are classed as luxury vehicles, when they lack many of the amenities of typical luxury vehicles and are better fitted to be called exotic (with the exception of the Porsche).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------ManufacturersManufacturers are classified in many groups, but they do not have specific names. Car fans argue on whether a certain brand can be compared with another one or not, even in the same country or region.Jaguar, Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz are the traditional luxury manufacturers, but manufacturers such as Saab, and Volvo are now considered by many to fall into this category. Lexus has met with limited but growing success across Europe even though it is a top selling luxury carmaker in the United States.[1] At the top end of the spectrum, Bentley, Maybach, and Rolls Royce are generally considered more prestigious than any other luxury car brandsSports car manufacturers are usually considered apart (and distinguished by their exclusivity, mainly by their production numbers), although some of them produce luxury sports cars (mainly grand tourers), such as Aston Martin, Porsche, and Maserati). Such sports cars are also known as "performance cars" that are designed to emphasize performance before luxury.Kaiser Jeep created the luxury four-wheel drive category in 1966 Super Wagoneer (first SUV to offer a V8 engine, automatic transmission, as well as all the luxury features and appointments) continuing through the segment leading Wagoneer Limited models.
These are luxury car manufacturers whose models are currently on the market.• Acura • Alfa Romeo • Audi • Aston Martin • Bentley • BMW • Bugatti • Buick *Cadillac • Chrysler • Ferrari • Infiniti • Jaguar (includes Daimler) • Koenigsegg • Lamborghini • Lancia *Land Rover • Lexus • Lincoln • Maserati • Maybach • Mercedes-Benz • Mercury • Morgan *Pagani • Porsche • Rolls-Royce • Saab • Spyker Cars *Volvo Cars ======================================
Segments
ENTRY LEVEL
The entry-level luxury forms the beginning classification of the luxury vehicles; competition in this segment is typically fierce. It features vehicles with an MSRP approximately between $26,000 and $36,000 (though with options, particularly on the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class, they can creep well into the $40,000 to $60,000 range), a relatively high degree of comfort is manufactured by luxury brand. If the vehicle is manufactured by a non-luxury marque its base MSRP should exceed approximately $36k and it must place an emphasis on comfort. The equivalent classification in Britain is compact executive car.This segment mostly includes the bottom vehicles in the line-up of luxury brands as well as the top-of-the-line models of some non-luxury brands. Vehicles in this segment include the Acura TSX, Acura TL, Alfa Romeo 159, Buick Lucerne, BMW 3 Series, Cadillac CTS, Chrysler 300, Mercury Grand Marquis, Lexus IS, Lexus ES, Audi A4, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Infiniti G35, Lincoln MKZ,Volvo S60, Volvo S40, Volvo V50, Saab 9-3, and the Jaguar X-Type
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MID LUXURY
In order to be considered part of the middle-luxury segment, a vehicle should feature a base MSRP between approximately $36k and $60k[2], have a very high degree of comfort, and should have the latest or near latest technological and safety innovations. Customers in this segment also yield some priority to performance. Therefore, many car manufacturers produce these cars with V8s and some highly sophisticated 6-cylinder engines. In Britain, these models are commonly referred to as executive cars. Vehicles in this segment include the mid-range models of several luxury car manufacturers such as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, BMW 5 Series, Holden Caprice, Holden Statesman, Audi A6, Saab 9-5, Lexus GS, and Jaguar S-Type/XF. There are also some flagship sedans in this segment. The Citroën C6, Alfa Romeo 166, Cadillac STS, Cadillac DTS, Chrysler 300C, Lincoln Town Car, Peugeot 607, Renault Vel Satis, Infiniti M35, Volvo S80, and Acura RL are all considered to be part of the mid-luxury segment due to their relatively low base MSRPs despite their rank as a "flagship sedan" and high-end like interiors.This market is operated under western nameplates with some Japanese representation. It is mainly controlled by Germans, Americans, and Japanese.
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HIGH END LUXURY
This category includes many flagship vehicles of luxury brands such as the BMW 7-Series, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, or Lexus LS. Currently, all vehicles priced between the range of $60k and $100k are a part of this exclusive club.[2] The vehicles in this segment offer extremely high levels of quality and latest technological developments, as well as degrees of comfort at least equal to those found in mid-level luxury vehicles. There is no precise term in the United Kingdom; such a car would be simply called a luxury car.Vehicles in this category include some of the models from the flagship lines of luxury car brands. Vehicles in this segment include the Cadillac STS-V, Lincoln Town Car L Series, Lexus LS, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7 Series, Audi A8, Infiniti M45, and the Jaguar XJ. Mercedes' E-Class based Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class is also in this segment. The Volkswagen Phaeton is the only high-end luxury vehicle that is not sold under a luxury nameplate. The Phaeton is no longer sold in the United States due to low consumer demand, as many consumers were unwilling to spend upwards of US70,000 for a non-luxury nameplate.This segment is operated under various German and British marques, with some limited Japanese and American nameplates
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ULTRA LUXURY
Currently, all cars in the ultra-luxury segment are priced at approximately $100k or higher, however the category also contains lower-level luxury cars with optional engine choices. [5] They may or may not be better in quality and refinement than some of the more affordable luxury cars, but due to their high MSRP, they guarantee exclusivity and help to get their owners noticed. This segment includes the entire lineup of Rolls Royce, Bentley, Maserati, Aston Martin and Maybach. Many "flagship sedans" from car companies whose average car sells in a lower class are actually in this category. For example, vehicles such as the Mercedes-Benz S600, Cadillac XLR-V, BMW 760, Lexus LS 600h L[6][7], Volkswagen Phaeton W12 or the W12 version of the Audi A8 can be included in this category.This category is operated mostly by European nameplates and controlled mainly by British and German marques.
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THE VOLVO PASSENGER VEHICLES ARE OF THE CATEGORY''SEMI LUXURY '' AND ''LUXURY '' MODELS.-it is one of the largest manufacturers of vehicles in the world.-it is one of the safest cars in the world.-its fuel injection system is unique in the world.-it is the original manufacturer of the ''ALUMINIUM ALLOY ENGINE''.-It has assembles cars in sweden / us/ thailand/china.
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* Economies of scale.[IN EUROPE/IN USA, IT HAS THE BENEFIT OF THE BIG VOLUMEAND IMAGE AND HENCE IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO COMPETE.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Capital / investment requirements.[THE COMPANY HAS MADE HUGE INVESTMENTS IN EUROPE/UK/ US IN PARTS/ ASSEMBLING PLANT]
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* Customer switching .[CUSTOMER LOVE TO SWITCH FROM LESS EXPENSIVECARS TO VOLVO -- PRESTIGE / LUXURY/ SAFETY BEING THE REASONS.
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* Access to industry distribution channels.[THE VOLVO CAR COMPANY HAS ONE OF THE BEST DEALER NETWORK DISTRIBUTION IN THE WORLD,AS THE COMPANY SPENDS RESOURCES TO SELECTTHE BEST AGENT ]
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* Access to technology.[THE COMPANY HAS THE BETTER R&D RESOURCETO DEVELOP ITS OWN TECHNOLOGY ]
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* Brand loyalty. Are customers loyal?[WHEN IT COMES TO BRAND LOYALTY THERE ISNO ONE TO MATCH VOLVO OWNERS LOYALTYFOR THEIR CARS]
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* The likelihood of retaliation from existing industry players.[VOLVO'S PRODUCT IMAGE / REPUTATION WILL MAKEIT DIFFICULT FOR RETALIATION DIFFICULT. THERE IS COMPETITION , NO DOUBT, FROM BMW etc.
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* Quality. [volvo's quality is unique, unmatched by competition]
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* The relative price and performance.[volvo's pricing in the market segment is value for money.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Branding. [volvo has one of the best / strongest brand in the passengervehicle market ]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ]
* Profitability of suppliers. [volvo company has been a very profitable companyamong the vehicle manufacturers.]
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* Role of quality and service.[the quality and service plays a significant rolein the marketing of the volvo cars.
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* The structure of competition. [the market segment falls into categories like entry level, mid level,high end and ultra luxury ]
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* Degree of product differentiation. [products are differentiated through brand positioning .]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Strategic objectives. [If competitors pursue aggressive growth strategies, rivalry will be more intense. If competitors are merely "milking" profits in a mature industry, the degree of rivalry is typically low.]
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