Zap and Electric Vehicle

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.

As the EV and HEV trend strengthens, key industry players are offering models that directly compete with Tesla. Competing models include the Chevy Volt and Spark, Nissan Leaf, Toyota Prius, Ford Focus, Honda Fit, Smart Car, Volkswagen Golf, BMW i3, and Mercedes Benz B-class EV (Grant, 2015). However, Elon Musk does not view these offerings as Tesla’s competition. With only 1% of total vehicle sales going to non-hydrocarbon burning cars, Musk identifies Tesla’s true competition as the gasoline cars with production rates of about 100 million per year (Musk 2014).

Their slogan is, “Burn rubber, not gasoline.” This is extremely beneficial for the company because it gives them a brand image and a concentration, as well as the ability to focus all of their efforts on being the best at electric vehicles. They’ve entirely ignored alternatives like diesel, ethanol, and hybrids. They’ve strayed from the known gas-electric hybrid, and plug-in hybrid to focus on their initial goal; zero-emissions, zero fuel. Competing companies like Ford, Chevrolet, and Toyota are famous for the combination car, that can’t be considered a true electric vehicle without the plug-in and charge feature, and by still being partially fuel driven. On top of that, the Tesla Model S uses about half the energy of a Toyota Prius per mile, and achieves double the range. By focusing exclusively on the true electric vehicle, with a mindset that oil could run out one day, Tesla is unique and far ahead of the game.

Opportunity: The electric automotive industry and Tesla should decrease both the costs of its batteries and in renewable energy to attract more purchasing customers.

Porters Five Forces model evaluated Actual competition, Threat of new entrants, Threat of Substitute Products, Bargaining Power of Suppliers, and Bargaining Power of Customers. Actual Competition in the Luxury Recreational Vehicle industry is mixed due to low switching costs, constant growth, and high differentiation among products in the industry. Threat of New entrants in

The car market has been ran by companies such as Volkswagen, Toyota, Ford, BMW, and many other companies, but one of the newer, up and coming companies in this market is Tesla Motors Inc. Tesla has been around for a little over 10 years, and have come quite a long way from where they began. Tesla now sells luxury electric vehicles different than any other electric vehicles today, and they have big plans for expansion in the future. Tesla may not be one of the biggest car companies today, but one day they will be considered alongside companies such as Toyota and Ford.

Electric cars have to compete directly with the already established traditional vehicles. Traditional vehicles have created a market for themselves and are also now entering into the electric car business, giving tough competition to the electric vehicle manufacturing companies.

Your paper should be between 1750 and 2500 words, in APA format and structured as follows:

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.

Tesla Motors Incorporated, an American company that designs, produces, and sells electric vehicles and their electric components, has become one of the fastest growing car companies in recent history. The company’s main goal was to start creating electric vehicles that were accessible and affordable to the public. Founded in 2003 and taking off successfully by 2009, Tesla Motors started selling the first mass-produced vehicle to use lithium-ion battery cells and hold a range of greater than 200 miles on just one charge. Along with building their own electric vehicle models, Tesla also builds electric powertrain components for vehicles from other automakers including cars such as the Toyota RAV4 electric vehicle. Tesla has begun to maximize

They are considering disruptors in the electric car market. With their advance innovation and stylish design, many consumers are willing to pay high price for Tesla performance car. Tesla has place themselves as a luxury brand with many consumers waiting for their new released backed order products.

The Porters model is built upon the assumption that strategy development is significantly influenced by the external environment. The Porters five forces are the threat of new entrants, the intensity of rivalry, the threat of substitutes, bargaining power of buyers and the bargaining power of suppliers (Magretta, 2012). The threat of new entrants in the motorcycle industry is moderate due to the moderate industry growth and high entry barriers. The industry is based on moderated economies of scale, moderate switching costs and the high cost of developing and promoting brands. The high barriers to entry are due to the required high initial capital and high fixed costs to set-up the provider and production facilities. The overall threat of new entrants in this industry is moderate.

Rarity: Tesla Motors is known to have a differentiated product over other firms in the sense that it sells electric based cars. It is the only successfully running electric sports cars in the U.S. At the beginning sales were not enough to sustain the business but tesla motors proved it self after introducing the new model, Tesla Roadster 2. There is only few car manufacturing companies trying to enter this industry which makes Tesla Motors have a competitive advantage.

Product acceptance: Tesla may have trouble with product acceptance. Electronic vehicle that emits no pollutants is attractive to consumers, but science may indicate that the electronic battery charging produces emissions that are harmful in the production of electricity.