...Toyota Prius Introduction Toyota Prius was first introduced in Japan in 1997 as the world's first mass-produced gas/eclectic hybrid vehicle. The Prius combines electric and gas to supply maximum fuel efficiency and to advertise a clean environment. Prius went global in late 2000, and has been very successful. Geographic Segmentation A private buyer or business buyer is more likely to purchase a Prius. Toyota Prius is available in more than 70 countries and regions and the customer can be from any part of the world. But, consumer targets most likely lives in urban, high populated, and hot temperature areas. Demographic Segmentation Toyota has found that the average consumer is geographically diverse. The consumer's age is between 25-60. They could be either male or female. The income level of the consumers are $100,000 a year vs $85,000 a year for the average buyer, therefore they are in the upper middle class and have well paid occupations. They are not only seeking an environment friendly car, but are also willing to pay more for comfort and future cost saving from the car. In fact, 42% of hybrid owners make $100,000 or more per year. Even though many diverse ethnicities are interested today in purchasing a Prius, Japanese people are the ones that own the most Priuses. The family lifecycle is that they are likely to be married with children (3-5 people). Psychographic Segmentation There are three types of potential buyers; early adopters and...
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...Toyota Prius Case Study Background Information Introduction The Toyota Prius is a full hybrid electric mid-size hatchback, formerly a compact sedan developed and manufactured by the Toyota Motor Corporation. The EPA and California Air Resources Board (CARB) rate the Prius as among the cleanest vehicles sold in the United States based on smog-forming emissions. The Prius first went on sale in Japan only in 1997, making it the first mass-produced hybrid vehicle. It was a "shakedown" model. Toyota like to extensively test any new technology on their own market, "close to home", to try and iron out any problems before they release it internationally. This is one of the reasons Toyota have the reputation of being the most reliable car maker in the world. There was about 70,000 Toyota Prius Generation 1 sold in Japan. A small number of these, significant by Toyota's standards, had problems with the battery pack. It was subsequently introduced worldwide in 2001. The Prius is sold in more than 70 countries and regions, with its largest markets being those of Japan and North America. In May 2008, global cumulative Prius sales reached the milestone 1 million vehicle mark, and in March 2011, the Prius reached worldwide cumulative sales of 3 million units. The U.S. is the largest market, with 1 million Priuses sold by early April 2011, and Japan reached the 1 million mark in August 2011. Since its launch in 2009, the third-generation model has sold more than 1 million units worldwide...
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...generation models of the Toyota Pries? How well has Toyota dealt with these factors? The Company: The Company has expended plenty of money on R&D and marketing of the Pries. Why? Toyota expects the Prius to set the standard for the entry of a line of hybrids from mini compacts to luxury vehicles. Thus, the car is an important component of company strategy. To successfully introduce the Prius and build this new line of vehicles will require coordination within the company. The second generation of Prius has already caused problems within the company. Production was increased at one plant necessitating a cut in production for other lines. Suppliers: With the successful introduction of the Prius, companies such as Panasonic may invest more in R&D to develop cheaper batteries. If they can do so, this will result in lower prices that, in turn, may further stimulate demand. Thus, it is to Toyota's advantage to work with suppliers to encourage this R&D. Marketing Intermediaries: The most important marketing intermediaries here would be dealers. Toyota had to prepare materials for dealers and their salespeople so that they could sell the Prius. Now, they have to "teach" purchasers how to drive the cars to get maximum fuel efficiency. A shortage of cars for the second generation of Prius is causing problems with dealers who want more and could sell the additional cars. In turn, dealers marking up the cars can negatively injure relationships with the company, who does not want to...
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...Toyota Case Toyota Motor Corp. (TMC) Should the new Toyota president accelerate the launch scheduled for the Toyota Prius? The plan to introduce the car “at the end of 1998 with expected production of 1000 units per month…” (Reinhardt, Yao & Egawa, 2006) is an extremely aggressive and ambitious goal; but, is it in TMC’s best interest to speed up the planned launch? There is no doubt that the new president (Hiroshi Okuda) is under extreme pressure to compete in a global market, he believes the company should radically alter its image to attract new customers and gain a competitive advantage while systematically facilitating environmentally-socially responsible practices. It may very well be that TMC should push for a faster launch; but, there are a few things we must take into consideration before we encourage our Toyota team to make any hasty changes. The auto mobile industry faces many challenges (as most industries do) however; this industry is unique in its own way. The industries high barriers to entry, high capital cost, and unique manufacturing facilities make managerial mistakes extremely costly (complete failure is not easily corrected, much less when you change the economies of scale platform). Before making any drastic changes to the manufacturing process, TMC must first analyze its: competition, market, government regulations, facility capabilities, management practices and overall responsibilities (responsibilities include anything from: reaching Goals...
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...Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC): Recall of Prius cars Company description Toyota Motor Corporation is a multinational company and one of the biggest automobile manufacturers in the world followed behind Volkswagen Group and General Motors. It was founded in the year 1937 in Japan by Kiichiro Toyoda and later lead by different members of the family. Nowadays Akio Toyoda stands as the actual representative director and President of Toyota Motor Corporation. The company’s goal is to contribute and change the society through a more efficient, modern and high quality make of automobiles. Toyota is managing its business with the emphasis on motor vehicle production and sales. In addition to that, it always looks forward to self-improvement; producing every year new and various types of vehicles with different features, advantages and more efficiency, as for example the Toyota Prius, Corolla and Lexus. Furthermore, Toyota as an automaker company is trying to provide safety, fuel efficiency, good quality, and be environmentally responsible. Moreover, in the year 2012 Toyota celebrated its 75th anniversary of its TMC´s foundation market with its total life span production and sales to the public of almost 200 million vehicles spanned across different countries and regions worldwide. In addition to that, Toyota showed impressive net revenues of 18,583.6 billion Yen. Furthermore the company actually employs an estimate of almost 350 thousand people all over the world (Toyota...
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...Question 1 (20 marks) Identify four actors in the microenvironment that affect the introduction and sale of the Toyota Prius and explain the role each of these actors played in Toyota’s strategy. A company’s microenvironment consists of the actors close to the company that affect its ability to serve its customers. It is made up of the company, suppliers, marketing intermediaries, consumer markets, competitors and publics. The following are four actors that affect the introduction and sale of the Toyota Prius: Customers: Customers are the most important actors in the company’s microenvironment. Without customers, there would be no company. Toyota studied the consumer market and came up with a successful target market strategy. Their targeting strategy was one of the main reasons for the Prius’ success. In the beginning, Toyota focused on the early adapters and innovators who were most likely techies. Which, as it turned out, was completely right. Techies were attracted to the advance technology and were even able to modify the computer systems. Also, the tech savvy customers tend to be environmentally conscience, which the Prius is known for. The second generation Prius was redesigned to have a broadened market focus. It had improved performance, power increase, new sleek design, and seven colors. It also featured a roomy interior, leg room, and storage space. It also included features found in luxury cards such as one touch button start and seven-inch touch screen...
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...involving young Toyota drivers jumping in the air. As a result, the Japanese’s marketing campaign along with continuing problems from the Big Three auto manufacturers, allowed import cars to make up about 20 percent of the US car market by 1980. Stage1 General Motors, Ford and Daimler-Chrysler focused in the late 1990s on mergers and acquisitions for improving their business positions to meet future challenges. Toyota, meanwhile, centered its business strategy on technological innovation and persistent environmental product development. The price of oil was not especially high during the 1990s when Toyota started its hybrid car program. Oil prices were below US $20 barrel in 1994 and were to fall to a 50-year low around 1997 when the Toyota Prius was first sold in Japan. Clearly something else was driving Toyota and other Japanese companies to invest so heavily in hybrid car development. There are three probable reasons: 1 .High petrol taxes in...
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...Company Case: Prius: Leading a Wave of Hybrids 1. What micro-environmental factors affected both the first generation and second generation models of Toyota Prius? How well has to Toyota dealt with these factors? In order for the reader to have an understanding of this question is important to begin by defining Micro-environment. This term is a factor of the Marketing Environment and it consists of the issues that, in one way or another, affect the company's ability to serve its clientele in a close and direct way. This includes factors such as customers, suppliers, competitors, shareholders, employees and media (among others). Having this in mind, it could be safe to state that the micro-environmental factors affecting the first and second generation of the Toyota Prius are the customers and the competitors. Consumers, getting affected by the gas prices, were looking for an answer to their prayers. Toyota gave them the answer, a vehicle that would allow people to save on gas as well as provide good and efficient service. Once the first generation Prius was released, although not too pretty or fancy, it served to its purposed and customers were buying it. The other factor, competitors, is pretty obvious. Everybody wants a piece of the pie. Auto makers such as Honda started developing and/or implementing the hybrid system on some of their vehicles. Toyota's answer was to keep developing what already has been a success, the Prius. A second generation was developed and...
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...The Toyota Prius is a hybrid electric car which is one of the first of its kind to be mass produced and marketed. The unique feature of the Prius is its Hybrid Synergy Drive which makes use of both the traditional petrol driven engine and an electric motor. This electric motor allows the Prius to switch off its petrol engine when stationary; and recharge the electric motor using the kinetic energy produced when braking. This not only conserves a lot of energy and petrol, and also allows for a smoother drive in the city areas which tend to have greater road congestion. Toyota’s largest target market would be educated working adults in developed urbanised countries especially in the West where there is a subculture of environmental concerns and issues which are relatively more active compared with the rest of the world. Thus the educated working class in these countries would be attracted to the Prius’ energy and fuel savings, and automatic battery recharging which would not only be a lot more environmentally friendly, but would ensure a more smoothly-powered ride to work in a congested city morning. Furthermore, the affordability of the Prius as compared to other Toyota vehicles coupled with even greater cost savings on fuel – cuts fuel consumption by 40% - is an added incentive for these environmentally conscious consumers as they might worry that specially designed green technology might be expensive One of the factors that could motivate these consumers to purchase the...
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...IC-TMT20121 PESTLE Analysis on Toyota Prius Abstract Toyota Prius Hybrid is using the Hybrid Synergy Drive (HSD) that perfectly optimizes power from both petrol engine and electric motor according to the driving condition. The electric vehicle (EV) which allows the vehicle run purely for low noise and zero fuel consumption [1]. The objective of our research paper is to investigate the factors that move Toyota Prius into production. The research is based on the PESTLE analysis (which is based on various factors like P-political, E-economy, S-social, T-technology, L-legal and E-environment) by using secondary data and qualitative analysis. In annuals ales worldwide since 1997 until 2011, Toyota Priusis performed well and popular in global market. Based on the analysis, Toyota Prius did move into hybrid vehicle production which influenced by the factors that mentioned above (PESTLE). Keyword: PESTLE, Toyota Prius. 1.0 Introduction Toyota Prius is a compact sedan which manufactured and developed by Toyota. Prius was named with meanings “ahead or leading” and “the predecessor of cars to come”. The first generation of Prius experienced great sales in US with 32% grow from2001 to 2003. It became the world first mass-produced gasoline electric hybrid car with aimed to reducing air pollution and increasing fuel efficiency. The second generation was redesigned as a mid-size lift back, with the redistributed on interior design and mechanical space significantly increasing luggage...
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...Launch of the Ford Fiesta Diesel: The World's Most Efficient Car In this case, the issue is that Ford launched an engine that use Diesel, the car itself has many potentials (lowest CO2) and follows all emission‘s standards and regulations. It encounter a positive reaction in Europe (Bestselling in Britain and sales has gone up by 40% the previous year) and Asia but it is not the case in the USA. Indeed, consumers still have a bad image of Diesel, in their mind Diesel is noisy, smelly and smoky. This bad perception of the fuel negatively affected the sales of one of the most fuel efficient car especially during an essential economic deterioration. Therefore Ford decided not to launch the car in the USA, but they argue that it it’s due to the cost of exporting from Europe but also the uncertain demand. Ford and also other carmakers are facing some challenges due to the elusive price of fuel but also the oil decline. Ford is mostly affected by people’s perception of Diesel, but the fuel represent 50% of sales in Europe due to its expensive price. Carmakers has the choice between Gasoline engines, Diesel engines or Hybrid Engines. Gasoline engine, are not the most wanted, indeed people prefer electric cars .But due to oil Embargo in 1973, it increase the price of gasoline thus made it more attractive .CAFE installed some regulations. Oil price decrease enabling carmakers to build better car and meet CAFÉ regulations but at the crises carmakers realize that it was...
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...Did you know that all the companies in America have something in common? They are all operating in an environment of forces that create both threats and opportunities for their businesses. These environmental forces, which make up something known as the "macroenvironment", include: demographic, economic, natural, technology, political and cultural. Since the macroenvironment is generally uncontrollable, businesses often must find ways to adapt to the constant changes. For example, over the past few years, the auto industry has been affected tremendously by changes in the technology, natural, and political environments and therefore forced to change their marketing strategies. The Technology Environment Kotler identifies the technology environment as the most powerful force affecting and shaping the future (83). The environment consists of: industrial productivity, new manufacturing processes, new products and services of competitors, new products and services of supply chain partners, and any new technology that could impact a company (Environmental Scanning). Technology has been responsible for developments such as the internet, computers, laser surgery, organ transplants, antibiotics and more (Kotler, 83). While advances in technologies are creating new markets and opportunities they are also replacing older technologies. Companies that do not keep up with these changes will find their products or services become obsolete and not up-to-date with the consumer buying behaviors...
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...ECO 365 David Norcross April 13, 2015 Current Market Conditions Competitive Analysis In this paper, Team A is participating in a strategic planning group creating a new product at General Motors. The following is a competitive market analysis on the potential of our new 2016 Chevy Volt’s success. We will be focusing on our competitor Toyota and their Prius lineup. Additionally, we will summarize our target consumer and current market conditions. Then we will cover variables that weigh on supply, demand, and equilibrium prices. Next, we will consider the pros and cons our firm faces while identifying the effect on our competitiveness and long-term profitability. Then, we will evaluate factors that influence fixed and variable costs. Lastly, we will provide recommendations on how GM can grow their profits and increase their competiveness. The Product The Chevy Volt was a concept designed by Bob Lutz Jon Lauckner of General Motors ‘GM’ in 2006 to overcome many of the limitations of pure electric vehicles while retaining many of the beneficial elements. The purpose of this car was to leap-frog the technology of the Prius hybrid. The theory of this concept was a car that would be able to drive on electricity for the first forty miles, and then a generator would run gasoline to extend the range of the car. In 2010, the production version was able to achieve 35 miles on electric and average 37 miles per gallon for an additional 342 miles (King, 2013, p. 1). This fall the second-generation...
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...the logical step from CSR to socialism means that companies should not engage in CSR. For me, it means that now that the companies are making CSR claims all over the place, socialists might want to point out the ideological dilemmas of this practice. As the power of big corporations has become increasingly evident, their legitimacy may erode if they stop making claims about their social responsibility. The dilemma is that if and when they continue making these claims, they implicitly accept that capitalist corporation is no longer immune to social and moral claims by others. 5) Explain the safety concerns in the 2010 Toyota Prius and Lexus Hs250h models. Are the design engineers morally responsible for the resulting accidents? Why or why not? Toyota is to recall almost half a million hybrid cars worldwide, including 8,500 of its Prius model in the UK, in the latest blow to the...
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