a Case Study about “The Honda Element”
Comment on the factors leading to success of the Element include Honda’s platform strategy as well as any other aspects oft he new product progress that you feel relevant.
The Element—a cost-efficient, new light truck from Honda—is conceived for the target Generation Y. This generation is a really lucrative market, almost as large as the “baby boom” generation. In this way, Honda used demographic segmentation to identify a segment with very high potential. According to market survey, the Honda cars are basically driven by young women and families, but not so much by young men.
The main idea of the product team was to develop an affordable, new design that target users would like to drive. To
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This simple strategy worked out well, and the Honda Element was approved by the Honda management team.
The development of new car products is usually separated into several subsystems. In the case of the Element, these were exterior, interior, suspension and power train, which all had their own design strategy. The Element started to be delivered to dealerships in summer 2003. The brand’s name “Element” was the favorite in research studies with the target audience. According to the Generation Y target, the advertising wasn’t traditional. Honda created interest in auto enthusiastic groups, at auto shows, and at colleges. They also sponsored surf events and tailgate parties at universities.
In conclusion the Element reached 75,000 sales in 2004, which was clearly above the forecast. The typical Element buyer was across all age groups, mostly male and has a more active lifestyle than typical Civic buyers.
Try also to work out what the product innovation charter PIC might have been for the Element.
As the background, the Element by Honda should be a cost-efficient, light truck, especially for males of the Generation Y. It is positioned for the single individual with an unconventional lifestyle. The typical Honda guidelines are performance, safety and value. In case of this new developed car, the guidelines were added to with adaptability/modularity, authenticity, functionality,
According to the RRoth data, lifestyle image, cool, price, and quality engineering were at the top of importance to the younger target market. The RRoth was also a status symbol among the younger target market and was assigned a 7 on the perceptual map. Introducing the new RRoth helped lower the usage cost of owning a motocycle and was seen positively by consumers giving the price data a number of 8 on the map. Maintaining a coolness to the bike was important enough to score an 8 on the perceptual map as younger customers found this to be important to them. Quality of engineering was assigned an 7 as introducing a fuel efficient model was exactly what the younger crowd was looking for.
Discuss environmental factors related to population that are changing the way certain people approach car buying and are thus creating new market segments.
Purpose: To help potential car buyers be prepared; so, they may achieve what they want, and need in a vehicle.
This paper will cover the comparison of two cars manufactured by two heavy weight American car companies. Based on the research that was done, it determined that the Ford Mustang wins in two of the three categories in which it was judged. This comparison will cover three separate categories: sales, performance, and pop culture. This has been a debate for over fifty years and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Even after these two companies disappear there will still be debate on which is greater. All citations are from the manufacturer’s official page, major automotive magazines, and performance branches of each vehicle. I will not be including aftermarket vehicles designed outside of the company. Due to the subjective
The Chevrolet: 100 Years of product Innovation is a synopsis of Chevrolet’s history, their marketing strategy product innovation and marketing position. The case highlights how Chevy has fared against competition and how they have been able to sustain in the market. Chevy carries a strong brand name and has a loyal consumer base. They are innovators in the auto industry, releasing a new vehicle annually. Chevy’s products are timeless, diverse and marketed globally. Historically, Chevy has position themselves as American company and has used that stance in their marketing. The Chevrolet brand is diverse and carries numerous vehicles including various cars, SUVs/crossovers, trucks/vans and hybrids. The case covers various product lines,
Creation, acceleration and emotion are the key components for any automobile industry to deliver its goods to the expected standards. General Motors, popularly known as GM has been a pioneer in the global autoindustry for more than 100 years. Developing from horseless carriages to the latest sports cars, innovations have always excelled at putting the world on wheels. In fact, there are a lot of exciting things to share about the company. GM’s corporation started in 1892 by R.E. Olds, with a solid financial foundation, which enabled him to produce great vehicles for customers and build a bright future for employees, partners and shareholders. GM slowly initiated its staff of experts in the factories which are located in different parts of the globe and acquired the brands like Chevrolet, Pointiac, GMC, Buick, Cadillac(General Motors Corporation, 2015). Leading the way is their tailored leadership team who set high standards for the company so that they can produce the best cars and trucks. This means that GM is committed to deliver vehicles with compelling designs, flawless quality and reliability, leading safety, fuel economy and commercial features. All are intended to create that special bond that can only happen between a driver and a vehicle. General Motors is a customer driven company and aims at earning customers
Being in a spiralling economy, the automobile industry must step up their games to produce attractive advertisements. Creativity is crucial to attract potential buyers and gain more sales. To target specific prospects through ads, the automobile industry usually apply rhetoric concepts to enhance their product’s appeal in every way, and not just purely on the automobile designs. As men are the main target audience, car ads are usually being advertised as appealing and dangerous. Nevertheless, there are other important aspects to be highlighted as well, which can be perfectly marketed with certain rhetoric aspects. Although automobile ads always target the male audience, the industry also understands how partners or family can influence in purchase
The brand’s lineup is composed of six vehicles — four SUVs and two sedans — representing the kind of product mix that should ensure future growth. After all, demand for SUVs is surging and at the expense of sedans.
For our initial strategy we wanted to choose a product line that would be most intriguing to customers in this poor economy. To initiate this we focused our products around better gas mileage, safety, and quality. In order to do this we needed to evaluate consumers’ needs and desires when making a high involvement purchase such as a car. We believe the best target market for this type of car would be a middle class family that does not have as much disposable income due to the recession in our economy.
Honda was identified as the partner who would provide and would fit in the political environment. Also, a Japanese firm did not appear threatening to the British competitors. Honda wanted to expand internationally. As benefits Honda was looking at using Rover's design studios, and selling engines to Rover. Also, the fact that no other European company would agree to a partnership with Honda combined with
2. Discuss the way the Nissan Leaf is being positioned in the market communications activity of Nissan? Illustrate your answers by considering a range of promotional mix variables.
The impact of technology affects the market because people are shifting towards the purchase of environmentally friendly cars. The business level strategy at Honda is in line with its enterprise and corporate strategy. In the motorcycle industry, the corporation is striving to build its products and services very close to its customers in a total of 21 plants that are spread across 21 countries (Hu, B.2013). The corporation also conducts Research and Development (R&D) in a total of six countries. The research and development system is tailored in its approach to producing products and services that are durable and reliable at the same time (Hu, B.2013). The focus of the Honda foundation is to have three main dimensions; social, economic and environmental issues. Environmental regulations Honda conducts its businesses in Japan and throughout the world (including North America, Europe, and Asia). A continued economic slowdown, recession and the sustained loss of consumer confidence in these markets, which may be caused by rising fuel prices or other factors, could trigger a decline in demand for automobiles, motorcycles and power products that may adversely affect Honda ‘s results of operations (Hu, B.2013). Regulations regarding vehicle emission levels, fuel economy, noise, safety and noxious substances, as well as levels of pollutants from production plants, are extensive
Honda is one of the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturers and of the leaders in the automakers industry. It was founded in 1948 by Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa. It’s headquarter is in Tokyo, Japan and it serves worldwide. Honda has 492 subsidiaries and affiliates accounted under its equity. The company develops, manufactures, and markets a wide range of products such as: automobiles, motorcycles, scooters, ATV’s, electrical generators, water pumps, lawn and garden equipments, robotics, jets, jet engines, and thin-film solar cells. In 2001, Honda became the second-largest Japanese manufacturer and in 2008, it became the fourth largest automobile manufacturer in the United States. Honda’s major products are
The development of marketing concept from a Product orientation to a Sales orientation and finally a Marketing orientation has signified an important change in how we understand and conceptualizes marketing in the 21st century. It signified an increased focus in the behavior of consumers and how by applying different marketing strategies organizations have been able to influence the way in which consumers react to their potential needs and how marketers can change their strategy to target different consumers wants. An assessment has been made in this essay looking at the development of the Volkswagen (herein referred to as VW) polo hatchback model.
We can carry the concept from Ansoff Matrix that, diversification is the one of the best strategy to develop and stay in a competitive market. Honda motor company also follow the same i.e Diversification i.e new product in a new market. As at that time already Honda was a world’s largest motorcycle producer so they tried to capture the new market i.e US market by establishing U.S subsidiary and offering the customer a light weight motorcycle to its customer.