The Economic Characteristics Of The Global Motor Vehicle Industry

The U.S. electric passenger car industry in 2011 was described as being in its infancy, because it is still a new concept to buyers. However there are signs of growth from 2011-2015. Buyers do not consider the car because of price, travel range and vehicle size, along with other secondary concerns.

Several factors have affected how the American auto industry now positions itself on the world market, and big changes have been made to reflect this new direction. The introduction of new technologies in vehicles, the growing market for cars in new developing markets, the impact of the industry on the environment, legislative responses and demands, as well as the increased expectations from consumers, are some of the factors. More international cars are being designed, manufactured and bought by American consumers and exported to foreign markets today than those exclusively manufactured by American companies, redefining the American auto industry, while having a positive impact on its economy. International brands accounted for 45% of total sales in the U.S. in 2013 and have now risen to 59% of the market, and continue to grow. While the amount of American cars has decreased in the local U.S. market share to international ones, the increase of foreign car production on U.S. soil has had the effect of creating new jobs for Americans both in the auto industry as well as in related new industries. The industry has seen huge growth numbers in the last few years with more growth expected.

Exciting and fun to drive are not the first words that typically come to mind when the car of discussion is the Toyota Prius; but should they be? Most people associate the terms hybrid, conservative, and gas efficient solely with the Prius. However, is this simplistic general consensus of the car an accurate description of what the vehicle actually offers? Is the Prius just a “great car” because it is a hybrid or is it a great car that just happens to be a hybrid. Typically, the criteria used to determine whether a car is great or not is the performance, aesthetics, and the economic value of the vehicle. The Prius is a great car because of its exceptional performance, attractive aesthetics and great economic value.

One driving force of change is technology. The automobile industry is constantly focusing on technology in order to make themselves and their cars better. They constantly compete to be the “first” one to have the newest and best idea. One of these ideas is an electric vehicle. GM, Ford, and Toyota all have electric automobiles. GM has the Chevy Volt. Volt One of Ford’s electric cars is the Electric Ranger. Ranger Toyota had the Rav4 EV, but due to discouraging sales it stopped production. “Toyota remains committed to developing an "Eco Vehicle," one that will have a minimal impact on the environment.” Rav4 One purpose of the electric automobiles is to have the ability to drive to work using only electricity. Currently during longer trips you would have to use a combination of electric and gasoline power. Electric Car

Although Toyota invented this new hybrid vehicle more than ten years ago, it did not offer the car to the USA consumers immediately. The main reason was that Toyota was aware of the new technology challenges. While Toyota was on the market research and new product development, other companies were focusing on merger and acquisition. Brand recognition, technology changes and improvement take several years to finish and Toyota wanted to launch a product which has cleared all the possible obstacles such as space, efficiency, speed, safety, weight which can meet all consumers ' expectations.

Just like the other industries such as apparel, electronics, and consumer goods, the automobile industry has accelerated its foreign direct investment, cross border trade and global production. The automobile industry has increased outsourcing and bundled value chain activities in major supplier chains. As a result, more developed countries that serve as suppliers have increased their involvement in trade and FDI. With these increased supplier capabilities, large national suppliers have become global suppliers and are now controlling multinational operations. This is because of their increased capability of providing good and services to various lead firms all over the world. The automotive industry has a distinct firm structure. This

Once the market introduction stage was over for the Prius, other car manufacturers started exploring the hybrid market. These manufacturers consisted of Ford and General Motors. While they were new to the market Honda, an already existing competitor, was coming out with more hybrid models offering one of their best sellers the Civic in a hybrid model. Once this happened Toyota had to take a difference approach for the Prius, now that there was more competition, Toyota needed to distinguish the Prius. Positioning is considered to be what consumers think about your proposed or current products in the market. Toyota needed to come out with a new marketing strategy to distinguish them, in a now crowded market. Toyota decided to present their Hybrid Synergy Drive to the market in 2003. The Hybrid Synergy Drive powertrain was capable of operating on either gas or electric and also both together to give optimum performance and power to the hybrid model. The Toyota Prius earned s few accolades consisting of best-in-class fuel economy and best-in-market fuel emissions performance. Toyota also lowered the costs of their

The United States has been experiencing a weak economy, which has dramatically affected sales within the automotive industry. The industry as a whole has been struggling, but the U.S. companies have had the worst results. Also, the desired product mix has recently changed to more fuel efficient vehicles instead of large SUV’s and trucks (S&P, 2008, p.1). The following analysis will discuss in detail the external environment of the auto industry and then transition to examining the internal environment of the U.S. firm, General Motors. GM is a large and well known domestic auto manufacturer that was the leader in U.S. auto sales for many years and at one time possessed a 47.4% market share. However, GM is now more

The natural environment such as our main natural resource for fueling our vehicles, oil, has aided in the increased sales of the Toyota Prius. Since gas prices increased in 2008, a fuel efficient car such as the Prius is economically and environmentally friendly. Toyota created the hybrid that “combines a gas engine with an electric motor” using less gas than the usual sedan. (Kotler & Armstrong, Principles of Marketing, 2010)

The financial crisis starting in 2008 and the following recession hit hard the US auto sector. Traditional car makers had to realise that substantial changes were needed in order to maintain their strong position in the

The United States Automotive industry has been dominated by five major auto manufacturers: GM, Toyota, Ford, Chrysler, and Honda. As globalization increases the domestic automotive market (GM, Ford, Chrysler) suffers from foreign competitors. Although with high entrance barriers the market suffers little to none from new entries. There are several reasons for this the largest being capital. It takes a lot of capital to obtain manufacturing plants, raw materials, as well as to hire and train employees. PASTEL Analysis

• The market for sport utility vehicles collapsed, hammering a profitable market the U.S. companies had counted on.

A thorough analysis of the external forces that shaped the global automotive industry in 2009 reveals how the rivalry between established car makers set the stage for some to successfully survive the global recession while others were forced to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A closer consideration of the impact of consolidation, demand and supply, fixed costs, product differentiation, and exit barriers on rivalry within the industry reveals how new entrants and weaker competitors were able to take advantage of environmental opportunities during the recession and gain profit shares. These considerations illustrate the critical importance of analyzing the forces that shape competition in an industry and how such an analysis serves as the

Thus far, our product strategy of successively expanding our model range, from smaller cars to luxury sedans, full-sized pickup trucks, large SUVs, and crossover vehicles has proved successful. In a bid to further extend our customer base, we have established the Scion marketing group, which will develop a range of vehicles targeting young, first-time car buyers. With respect to environmental issues, Toyota’s hybrid automobile Prius, which was introduced to the North American market in 2000, has been extremely well received and development is under way to launch our next-generation hybrid car. The Company intends to

The characteristics of the global motor vehicle industry are a boom in certain places and a bust in others all due to economic conditions in different nations. Four years after tow of Detroit Michigan’s big three went into bankruptcy American car makers are going “full throttle” with sales in August hitting an annual rate that if substantiated can take them back over 16 million and that is a rate that was last hit before the economic crisis and 80% higher than 2009 when GM and Chrysler went into bankruptcy. The opposite is happening in Europe being in its sixth year slump now and with a weak economy, high petroleum prices and an aging