Contents

Introduction

Volkswagen has been the largest car maker in Europe and having its presence all around the globe. In terms of its assembly plants and its brand presence it is positioned at the highest level according to the current market trends. Henceforth to maintain its position in continuously technologically advancement world it needs to diversify its trend towards more eco-friendly and economic cars.
This marketing plan is for cars body panels, our new, innovative product for the Volkswagen Group. The present need is for developing panels which could store energy in order to eliminate the need for a big block of chemical sat in the middle of the chassis called as “batteries”. This marketing report will provide the environmental analysis, forecasted financial figures control and contingency plan for the energy efficient car body panel’s introduction to the company for acquiring better share and gaining competitive advantages over its rival companies. (Ecofriend, 2011)

Situation Analysis
Industry Analysis

Threats of Substitute Products:- The possible substitute products of automobile industry we could mention are the public vehicles such as busses, trains and airplanes. But on the contrary they have many disadvantages compared to a car, namely they have fixed routes and timetables and even won’t provide door-to-door transport facilities. As of our product the solar cars and hybrid cars could be a possible threat. The main drawback for solar car is its consistency and reliability. The solar car fails to provide power in absence of natural solar energy. Also the energy is stored in large battery arrays making it impractical for vehicles to be energy efficient. Hybrid cars could not possess extreme threat due to its lower power output, poorer handling, higher maintenance cost and higher center of gravity. (Molnar) Threats of New Entrants:- The car industry has been rapidly acquiring new players but competing themselves in the major leagues would be difficult for most of them. Some of the newest crop of car companies having their presence in large markets like US and China could divert themselves towards the European market. Companies such as Coda automotive have it foots already solidified as a player in US market for electric car business could be possible threat. Also with the arrival of financial angel Toyota’s, Tesla has emerged as a promising opponent in premium cars. On the contrary the problematic issue for new entrants to enter such a concentrated and expensive market like the car industry is first of all in creating its brand image. Other than this the huge investment of money in research and development and configuration of retail distribution network are another restricting factors to the new entrants.

Intensity of Competitive Rivalry:- There are few competitors but most of them are not reputable and having minimum market share only in their home countries such as Coda automotive, Tesla Motors and Venturi have their presence only in US market. On the other hand Volkswagen has best reputation and highest market share in a very large European market. Bargaining Power for Customers:- As of present in the European market and round the globe the energy efficient cars with energy storing body panels have very less substitutes available; henceforth the bargaining power of customers is low for our product. Also the franchised distribution system in the car industry leaves very less space for the customers bargaining power. Bargaining Power of Suppliers:- The bargaining power of suppliers is high in this industry and depends on the associations made with them. However such associations can be beneficial but the final word lies more or less with the suppliers. Such dependency on the supplier is also reflected in our product since the car body panels for the automotive needs to be purchased from China.
Market Characteristics Political Factor:- Major of the countries