COMPANY ANALYSIS:

PREPARED FOR: PROFESSOR SHERRIF WAHBY

PREPARED BY: NAMRATA SOHAL

March 11, 2015

A. Company Background

History

John Dodge, who with his brother Horace co-founded the Dodge Brothers Company, which was once America’s third-largest automaker and later became part of Chrysler

Dodge Brothers Motor Company was founded in 1913 and debuted its first automobile, a four-cylinder touring car, in 1914. The company sold almost 250 of these vehicles during its first year and 45,000 the next year, Three years later, Dodge added trucks to its repertoire.

During World War I, the company supplied vehicles and parts to the U.S. military. (History.com Staff, 2009)

When the Dodge brothers died in 1920, they employed 22,000 workers and produced 140,000 automobiles per year. (History of Dodge, n.d.)

Size and growth

Dodge increased sales 41 percent from 2009-2014, and is getting its groove back as a true performance brand thanks to rekindling its relationship with the SRT high-performance division with two 707-horsepower cars and the iconic Viper. (Wayland, 2014)

The Dodge Dart was up 51% and the Dodge Durango was up 66% — a figure which marks the largest sales gains of any Chrysler vehicle. (McGrath, 2013)

Ron Burgundy played a starring role in the 59-percent increase in October sales of the new Dodge Durango SUV over year-earlier levels, Chrysler invested in making the new version of the three-row SUV notably better than the old, with increased fuel efficiency and improved connectivity, among other enhancements. (Durango Sales Serge, 2013)

B. MARKET SEGMENTATION

Generation Y
Families

DEMOGRAPHIC

35-45 years of age
Income – As per industrial income ( median household income-over 90,000 annually) Purchaser male – 55% and female – 45% (average)

Young married couples with children (30-35)
Medium to high income
Purchaser – women and/ decision makers

GEOGRAPHIC

America and Canada mainly
Urban or deserted areas

America and Canada mainly
Rural areas

PHYSIOGRAPHIC

Moderate level of comfort with technology.
Passionate for sport cars.
People who are brand conscious

Families look for spacious cars
Cars which are fuel efficient

Behaviour

Long Trips
Inbuilt GPS is very helpful
Excellent Look

Vacation with children
Carrying a lot of luggage

The primary target for dodge are women. Especially upper center pay wedded ladies with kids. Virtually every other hybrid SUV, the Durango is suited to individuals who shuttle children to occasions and practices, take family excursions. All SUVs are showcased as rough terrain enterprise vehicles, yet in actuality, everybody knows they generally stay nearby shopping center, markets and soccer fields.
A. 4 P’s

PRODUCT

Dodge is a North American automaker that is a subsidiary of the Chrysler Group, one of the largest auto groups in the United States. (Unhaggle Inc., 2014) See the table below for a brief description of each automobile. (FCA US LLC., 2015)

Challenger
Charger
Dart
Durango
Journey
Grand Caravan
MRSP
26995
27995
16495
23495
20295
21395
Mileage
30
31
41
25
26
25
Horsepower
707
370
184
360
283
283

Of the almost 300,000 Fiat, Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, SRT and Ram brand vehicles sold in Canada last year, essentially half were either a Ram pickup or Dodge Grand Caravan minivan. Arguably, the Grand Caravan’s combination of its relatively low-price and plenty of family-friendly features were just some of the reasons its sales jumped in 2014 by 11 per cent, to 51,759 copies sold in Canada last year compared to 46,732 units in 2013. ( Postmedia Network Inc, 2015)

PRICE
The volume brand under the Chrysler/Fiat umbrella, Dodge saw its product offerings cut during the great recession, but continues to offer several vehicles including the Durango, Charger, Grand Caravan, Challenger, Journey and recently introduced Dart. (VerticalScope Inc, 2015)

After its 2009 reorganization, Dodge’s truck brand,