Chapter 7

The group shows a strong manufacturing portfolio. The brand allows the company to cater to the specific needs of the individual customer. VW provides consumers with a vast variety of both luxury and commercial vehicles. (Kalthoff 2014)

2. Mercedes-Benz is a multinational brand of the German manufacturer Daimler AG, the brand is used for luxury automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. The name first appeared in 1926 under Daimler-Benz which is widely regarded as the first automobile. Mercedes-Benz is part of the "German Big 3" luxury automakers, along with Audi and BMW, which are the three best selling luxury automakers in the world Mercedes-Benz carries a full range of passenger, light commercial and heavy commercial equipment. Vehicles are manufactured in multiple countries worldwide. S class is basically a luxury sedan manufactured mainly for middle aged both male and female and also for families as it is a automatic , SUV , luxury, spacious and comfortable car .

Bentley uses different kinds of market segmentation to segment their international market. By using variables like nation’s economic development and gross domestic product, markets like United States, UK and Europe are recognized and had been Bentley’s traditional market. Those markets gave Bentley a lot of sales especially during the economic boom in the 80s. As sales slowly declined in the 90s, Bentley had a hard time keeping up. That leads to a major investment in facility, new product development and brand repositioning. As sales drop again in 2008, Bentley began to realize that their use of variables for market segmentation like age, education, gender and etc is not how the market behave, with the increasing buying power of the rich from BRIC. This force them to segment market based on number of sales in that market and not based on developed or developing nations like they used to. This results in targeting market that are growing, despite those market have low per capita income, but the buying power of consumers in those market is the greatest. Young consumers in economically growing nations are being targeted. As they are young and less educated, they would like to possess branded things as a sign of their social class and since Bentley is a strong brand which comes along with luxury design and innovative technology, there is no doubt

The Volkswagen Group follows a cost leadership and differentiation strategy. The Volkswagen Group achieves low cost leadership by sharing automotive parts amongst its products and as well as sharing vehicle platforms amongst the other 12 brands under the Volkswagen Group, such as Audi, Bentley, Porsche and Volkswagen Passenger Cars. The Group improves product differentiation by focusing on the product quality improvement, innovation and sustainability. This differentiation strategy helps ensure that the customers are satisfied with the products, and that the customers will be willing to pay a premium for the product.

The Bentley 4.5 liter was a perfect car for James Bond at the time. It matched him. It was fast with the supercharger. The car helps him chase down a Citroen that Le Chiffre drove. In Casino Royale the third burglar was named Le Chiffre and he jumped in a Citroen and tried to escape James Bond.

2. Mercedes-Benz is a multinational brand of the German manufacturer Daimler AG, the brand is used for luxury automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. The name first appeared in 1926 under Daimler-Benz which is widely regarded as the first automobile. Mercedes-Benz is part of the "German Big 3" luxury automakers, along with Audi and BMW, which are the three best selling luxury automakers in the world Mercedes-Benz carries a full range of passenger, light commercial and heavy commercial equipment. Vehicles are manufactured in multiple countries worldwide. S class is basically a luxury sedan manufactured mainly for middle aged both male and female and also for families as it is a automatic

Porsche is a tradition and a legacy all by itself. The competitive positioning of the Boxter is associated with the brand name. Porsche’s luxury and lifestyle brand are luxury personified in terms of the technically superior design. The long term success of the brand is only due to its designing and technical competence to deal with the super luxury definition.

Even though Diesel is extremely successful and influential in the market of luxury and high fashion, it encounters the strong competition from Levi’s, the market leader, and pioneering companies who offer similar products like Lee and Wrangler. Unstable environments, dynamic markets, intense competition, and high costs to enter new markets force companies in various industries to adopt non-traditional, innovative branding strategies, including cobranding, in an attempt to exploit their existing brand equity (Desai & Keller, 2002). In recent years, Diesel has collaborated with different range of well-established manufacturers to produce special edition items. This strategy usually provides a tool for differentiation that leverages brands through the transfer of positive associations, such as brand-quality, image, or awareness, from one brand to another (McCarthy & Norris, 1999; Simonin & Ruth, 1998; Washburn, Till, & Priluck, 2000).

The branded product at the heart of the SLP is the Ford Mustang. The Mustang was first introduced in 1964 and has become one of Ford's most iconic brands (Damian, 2006). Automobiles in general are a good subject for the study of branding because the car itself changes every year, but the brand does not. Over time, specific brands become associated with particular attributes, in terms of product category, positioning, price, and in the case of cars their styling, design and the lifestyle attributes that are associated with that vehicle. The Mustang has gone through roughly five iterations, and is currently in its fifth generation (Markus, 2010).

The current economic crisis has spread havoc across local and global markets. There can be no place for doubt that certain automobile manufacturers and retailers would also suffer to some extent from the catastrophe. The car industry is a huge entity that has several different subdivisions, and it is quite intriguing to see how consumer behaviour shifts across these sublevels of the automobile market and how different brands engage in dealing with the arising instability. Aston Martin is one of the most famous UK brands and one of the top marquees for top-end sports cars in the entire world. Established in 1914 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, Aston Martin, has gone through a lot and many changes have occurred in its history including

Our motto “Luxury is in each detail” can be achieved through our core, facilitating, supported and augmented product.

Maintenance of the brand image is always the fore most important factor for the luxury brands in order to sustain in the market. is very critical. Therefore, of all the criteria mentioned above, we have determined the brand image is the most important criterion on which we will base our recommendation.

Luxury vehicle is a marketing term used to describe cars with greater performance, comfort, innovation, and features that convey a brand image. As the industry has grown, it has become much more complex; there is more intense competition and new needs for consumers.

Porsche is one of the most well-known brands in the world. In customers' minds, Porsche stands for exclusivity, class, and high quality. The company's marketing strategy is oriented towards identifying the needs and preferences of a small group of customers and on developing car models that satisfy these needs. However, Porsche was forced to introduce several models on the market that were not in accordance with what typical customers of the company usually prefer. These models refer to lower-priced cars, but also to high class SUVs like Cayenne and Panamera.

However, due to its unique targeting strategy, it has not win compatible brand recognition among the public. Although Audi enter much earlier than BMW and Benz in the luxury car market, its marketing strategy limited increase of public brand recognition even Audi has over 100 years’ history. Besides, although its styles are highly accepted by the targeting customers, there are a growing number of people who can afford luxury cars for family use in China. Lack of vitality is limit of its further market expansion. On the contrary, its major competitor in China, BMW, has launched a series of marketing strategies to promote its high-performance, manoeuvrability, as well as stylish design to attract young people (BMW, 2009) in order to expand its market share. Therefore, although Audi has achieved success in the targeting market, it may consider further development through diversification in product line and advertising campaign.