Tesla Marketing Plan

Many people buy hybrid cars because they have been told that hybrids are much more eco-friendly than any other vehicles out on the market and they feel proud for supporting the Mother Nature. Surprisingly, it is a fact that a recent report announced that the Toyota Prius has a higher life time energy cost than Hummer H1 SUV (kentlaw.edu). It also states, “There are, however, environmental costs to mining and smelting (in Canada) 1,000 tons a year of zinc for the battery-powered second motor, and the shipping of the zinc 10,000 miles - trailing a cloud of carbon - to Wales for refining and then to China for turning it into the component that goes to a battery factory in Japan” (kentlaw.edu). In other words, the hybrids emit less carbon dioxide and other gases but it releases far more energies and toxic gases into atmosphere at production and disposal stage.

“We can break our dependence on oil…and become the first country to have one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015,” President Obama said in his January 2011 State of the Union address (Institute for Energy Research 1). While this may sound promising, the practicality and merit in achieving this goal remains unclear. Auto manufacturers have been working on plans for electric cars for years, especially the three largest companies in the US: Chevrolet, Chrysler, and Ford. These companies have been hoping that the development of electric cars would create a sort of lifestyle change for consumers, both weaning the U.S. off of its dependence on foreign oil and breathing life into the market for auto sales at the same time. Electric cars are often sold as zero emissions, but technically that is only true once they are charged and in terms of their tailpipe emissions. After all, they have to get their energy from somewhere and, more often than not, the electricity used for charging is supplied by traditional coal fired power plants. The real question then is whether the source and amount of energy required to build and supply an electric car with power is actually cleaner and more economical than a traditional combustion automobile. As it turns out, the answer is both unexpected and fairly complicated. In order to assess whether the use of

Gasoline powered vehicles are the types of vehicles that are commonly used around the world. Gasoline powered vehicles utilize an internal

Tesla`s current objectives include creating a high demand for electric vehicles which ultimately will raise sales. This will be achieved as more awareness on the harm gasoline emissions cause on the environment is shown, and knowledge on electrical powered cars is gained. Tesla also plans to create customer loyalty with current customers and create customer referrals. Tesla will achieve this by continuing to have regular customer events, such as show rooms which display their new technology.

The rise of green products and the want of consumers to become more environmentally friendly has been increasing. In 10 Green Marketing Milestones, the reading mentioned how the “rise of the Toyota Prius: It may not have saved the world, but at 1 million cumulative vehicle sales the Prius became the predominant fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle” (Neff 2). This is an example of how companies are actually wanting to go green in order to make more profit and rise above their competitors. Going off the Prius example, it was also mentioned how Hummer cars, which use an excess amount of fuel, sales have plummeted. This was because this model no longer appealed to the consumers and General Motor’s had to discontinue the model and even went bankrupt. This sale tactic works and is so successful because the consumer’s mindset have evolved to seek things that are better for the environment. Many would prefer Toyota over General Motor because of their company’s reputation with being green. Although this might not work for all companies, but for some, they have become more successful than their competitors by going green and so, convincing more and more to

Similarly government regulations in the United States and Europe are tightening up, consequently requiring cars to be cleaner and more fuel efficient. As a result, the collaboration with BMW is paramount to getting the most fuel efficient vehicles to the market in a timely manner so that GM can harvest a substantial profit. (3) In addition General Motors is working on the next generation of fuel efficient and gasoline free vehicles to help reduce the impact of the vehicle on the environment, while preserving personal mobility, which further indicates its commitment to innovation. (6)

Tesla Motors are noted to have personnel with a unique expertise in their field of work. These individuals help in carrying out activities that lead to the great performance of the company. The various innovations applied by these people is what led to the better performance of the company. Elon Musk along with taking over the leadership of the company brought about his experience in the firm and this was to influence the future performance of the company. Elon masterminded the designing of the Roadster and also included the marketing of the ordinary vehicle in the goals of the company (Hunger, 2010). This was something which had not been done by those who were there before him and thus his

gas powered car. Some people take the initiative to get solar panels and charge their cars

This was a new and untapped market and Tesla needs to develop a marketing plan that will allow them to stay ahead and be the sought after brand in electric vehicles. They cannot simply rely on word of mouth like they have been doing in the past.

Tesla has become the first automaker to implement a direct sales business model, they don’t rely on middlemen to get their product to the masses, instead they go directly from the factory to the future owners via online sales. The people who are already costumers are satisfied and this makes their user base grow via word of mouth.

Summer 2012 NEW YORK UNIVERSITY STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN Strategic Marketing Plan Model S Premium Electric Car, Tesla Motors Inc August 20, 2012. New York University Author: Partha Mitra 2 Strategic Marketing Revision History Date Version Description

In order for Tesla Motors to keep growing now and into the future, it is going to be important to expand their target market to reach more consumers. Expanding the target market to include generation Y (mid-20s to early 40s, middle class working adult), Tesla would be able to utilize their facility, while increasing production. This target market will be pinpointing the young professionals that are looking for an entry level luxury car. We are going to segment the market for our new targets in three categories: eco-friendly consumers, tech savvy and entry level luxury cars.

GMs current situation in the market is that CEO Mary Barra has front lined them to become the new face of operational sustainability in climate control in the automobile industry. They have exerted their sustainability efforts to redevelop their production facilities around the world. Toole (2016) stated, “General Motors plans to generate or source all electrical power for its 350 operations in 59 countries with 100 percent renewable energy — such as wind, sun and landfill gas — by 2050”. Mary Barra fuel efficiency commitment has started with the GMs battery operated plug in vehicle the Chevy Volt. The article “The 2016 Volt” stated, “the Volt can drive 53 miles on electricity alone and then after the 18.4-kWh lithium-ion battery is depleted, the “range extending” 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine (that operates as a generator for the vehicle’s motors) comes into play and it has a combined EPA estimated fuel efficiency of 42 mpg” (Vasilash, 2015). GMs strategic plan for the next three yours needs to go one step future than just their company becoming 100 percent reliant on renewable energy, moreover they need to engage with their suppliers and hold them accountable for the same standards. GMs needs to ensure they have complete cooperation from all suppliers to exhibit full commitment to the reduction of greenhouse gases. It is extremely important for GM to gain their loyal customers trust back and openly discussing their environmental efforts with the entire supply chain will

Unique position in automotive industry: there is public excitement for the vehicles Tesla manufactures. Tesla has a climbing interest among investors as that population continues to grow and the company’s value is increasing with the development of a sound financial strategy for future value. The intangible appeal of the Tesla car product is the high-value of a new company projecting market confidence.

Tesla use swinging by the fences strategy, which implement high risk business, however generate high return. First, we target the high end customer by producing high class product. We produce the product at the same level as Maserati, Porsche, etc. We need to make an high brand image for the brand, especially the Tesla brand is still new to the automobile industry. Telsa has this different aspect from other car nowadays, Tesla operated by battery or we could say Tesla produce electric car. After we got quite some revenue to expand our market, we will target new segmentation of customer, which lower than the above explanation. We produce a product with price range from US$ 50,000 – US$ 75,000, which has lower class than Maserati and Porshe. We use this marketing