Case Study: BMW
BMW is the ultimate driving machine. Manufactured by the German company, Bayerische Motoren Werke
AG, BMW stands for both performance and luxury. The company was founded in 1916 as an aircraftengine manufacturer and produced engines during World War I and World War II. It evolved into a motorcycle and automobile maker by the mid-20th century, and today it is an internationally respected company and brand with €53 billion (about $76 billion) in revenues in 2008.
BMW’s logo is one of the most distinct and globally recognized ever created. The signature BMW roundel looks like a spinning propeller blade set against a blue sky background—originally thought to be a tribute to the company’s founding days as an aircraft
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In addition, BMW redesigned its 3, 5, and 7 Series cars, making them unique in appearance yet remaining exceptional in performance. BMW’s full range of cars now include the 1
Series, 3 Series, 5 Series, 6 Series, 7 Series, X3 SUV, X5 SUV, X6 SUV, Z4 (Roadster), and M. The redesign of the 7 Series, BMW’s most luxurious car, targeted a group called “upper conservatives.” These wealthy, traditional consumers traditionally don’t like sportier cars, so BMW added an influx of electronic components such as multiple options to control the windows, seats, airflow, and lights, a pushbutton ignition, and night vision, all controlled by a point and-click system called iDrive. These enhancements were created to add comfort and luxury and attract consumers away from competitors like Jaguar and
Mercedes.
BMW successfully launched the X5 by targeting “upper liberals” who achieved success in the 1990s and had gone on to have children and take up extracurricular activities such as biking, golf, and skiing. These consumers needed a bigger car for their active lifestyles and growing families, so BMW created a highperformance luxury SUV. BMW refers to its SUVs as sport activity vehicles in order to appeal even more to these active consumers.
BMW created the lower-priced 1 Series and X3 SUV to target the “modern mainstream,” a group who are also family-focused and active but
It is important to realize the basic facts that are associated with cars and with BMW in particular, and that different demographic are attracted towards different types of car, to later understand that even though the product in the ad may be amazing but the ad itself is not. Did you know that in 2010 the number of cars in the world reached a billion (Noël)? Today’s culture is highly surrounded and based on the use of cars. They are such a prominent part of our culture today that if an alien were to visit our planet right now they might just consider cars to be the dominant form of life (The Hitchhiker 's Guide to the Galaxy). There are so many different types, and makes of cars that they can suit any personality in the world.
The industry for superior luxury cars is a highly exclusive one with a few automotive makers making their presence felt. The major market share is held by Porsche which is known to have formidable rivals like Benz and BMW. The SUV supercar segment is a highly evolving one where manufacturing style localities and units are the decisive forces that ultimately culminate towards the cost of the car.
Development process for building the cockpits caused a ripple effect of BMW’s quality problems in competing of luxury automobile market. Rivals from Japanese companies entering into the luxury segment was changed the standard of acceptable quality at launch. From time, cost and process cycle perspectives to elaborate the causes in-depth.
The wind pushed on the car, as it went down the motorway in lightning speed. I could barely hear the 370 horsepower engine roar, as the bluster of the wind out matched it. The car rode smoothly even with greater speed and handled perfectly, as forty thousand pounds’ worth of German engineering should be. I then fiddled with the radio to fill my ears with some classical music. The interior of the mighty BMW M2 Coupé included fantastic, adjustable, heated sports seats in luxurious black leather with contrast stitching in polar blue. The steering wheel was also in the luxurious black leather with the embossed M logo in the middle and the circular dials with blue needles added to the sporty nature of the car. The vehicle also included advanced technology with lots of gadgets to play around with to enhance the driving experience, which added to the car's the irresistible
In the mid 1990’s, BMW decided to launch a new vehicle titled the BMW Z3 Roadster, its first car to be manufactured in North America. BMW wanted to capitalize on the decline of the motorcycle market with a roadster sports car that was targeted at driver excitement and “emotional fantasy” for drivers. The Z3 initiative provided the important opportunity to increase market share and build a stronger brand connection with Americans. Its success would influence how Americans related to all BMW products moving forward, shaping overall brand strength across market segments. The Z3 Roadster launch also needed to be done with the context of BMW’s redesigned 5 series and their role as the “official international automotive sponsor” of the 1996
Being a world-class classic sedan car M5, it targets the middle or high income people as their customers. And these target customers will not usually pay seriously attention on the price. So the purchase decision made by this group of people will always depend on the product features, quality or even just image. These target customers and up-to-date technology make M5 stay a high price.
significant improvements in the product line. BMW wanted to position itself as the "best" rather
For future development projects, Carl-Peter Foster should concentrate on BMW’s core competencies of concept design and assembly- then outsource its parts to experienced suppliers who can offer further technological knowledge. In order for BMW to introduce more models more frequently, they need to decrease the lead-time from the concept phase of the car to the release of the final product to the market.
BMW marketing veers towards standardization rather than towards adaptation although it has a combination of both. The aesthetics for instance on its websites and the rest of its marketing mix are similar on all its material reflecting standardization. The classic design accords with the image of the company and does not differentiate according to specific country. So, for instance, users switching from the Taiwanese website to the American one will find the same design. The dominant colors of BMW, too - blue, black, silver and grey- remained the same regardless of country, and the pictures are the same too
The history of BMW is one of ground-breaking innovations and exceptional automobiles, including motorcycles and aircraft engines. It has a history with people of vision and of pioneering creation in the world of aviation engineering. Already we can begin to see that the BMW group is a well known and significant player in its market.
7 Series: The 7 Series is BMW’s luxury Saloon, combining performance, elegance and dynamic appeal.
The company aims to generate profitable growth and above-average returns by focusing on the premium segments of the international automobile markets. With this in mind, a wide-ranging product and market offensive was initiated in 2001, which has resulted in the BMW Group expanding its product range considerably and strengthening its worldwide market position.
Strength of Competition-Very high. Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Jaguar, Porsche, and more have invaded BMW’s market niche.
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience of the excellence achieved by BMW over the coarse of the past 85 years.
The next aspect that we are going to analyse is the income elasticity of demand for BMW’s cars (fig2). From economic theory we know that as income increases, demand for luxurious goods will increase more than proportionately. This