Mkt571_Week_2_Product_Offering

Learning Team Product Offering “Smart Cars” MKT/571 Product Offering, Definition, Identification In 1972, Johann Tomforde was the project leader for future transportation system at Mercedes-Benz. He was thinking of an urban vehicle that would be 2.5 meters long and a two-seater (Vasilash, 2008). The Smart Cars a created production car as a fashioned statement and in addition, as a concern for the urban environment for automobiles. The evolution of the smart car became more realistic because of the concern of urban environment for automobile and in 1991; two different ideas went into progress, the Mercedes A Class and the Mercedes City Car an electric car that was 2.5 m long. As the Smart Car became more popular for it is innovative, ecological and agile city transportation it came to the United States. In 2006, 19 states and Puerto Rico began to take observe Smart Cars and Penske automotive group wanted to be part of the movement with Daimler Chrysler AG and head of the Mercedes Car Group that brought success to Europe with more than 750,000 attracted customers. Finally, in 2007 the United States customers interested in the Smart Car would pay to reserve a car that would not be available to them until 2008. The consumption of the vehicles where at 33mpg city/40 mpg highway with room for two passengers and could go zero to 60 in 12.8 seconds and top speed 90 mph. Even thou these vehicles are very affordable and fuel-efficient people would buy it more because of the fissionability of the Smart Car. Market Growth Smart cars have entered the market right when the prices of gas began to rise, at the time where many individuals were looking for fuel efficient vehicles. The growth opportunities for the smart car are limitless. The success that the smart cars have experienced over the last couple of years has created a market for this type of eco friendly vehicle. Increased concern for the environment and global warming has created a demand for this type of vehicle. Although the market for smart cars is prevalent, the lack of makes and models has ceased the market growth. According to Kotler and Keller (2007) strategies to sustain market growth include “improving product quality and adding new features and improved styling; adding new models and flanker products” (p. 193). Offering consumers more styling options helps in reaching out to more clients. Smart cars are available in all makes and models including sport, family, and SUVs vehicles. International Market Countries around the world have embraced compact vehicles encouraging manufacturers like Toyota, Daimler, and Mercedes-Benz to start new product lines. A good market that has not fully embraced this new mode of transportation as compared to other countries is in Mexico. If aimed towards a suitable market, consumers will benefit from the inexpensive price of the vehicle, the fuel efficiency, and will save environment, giving the product the opportunity to gain popularity. Also, with the recent move by automakers to have more factories in Mexico to produce vehicles, money will be saved on the transporting costs of vehicles sold if they are built and sold locally. “Mexico’s share of North American auto production will rise 19 percent over the next decade, from an average of 12 percent from 2000 to 2009, according to DesRoseirs.” (Black, para. 3) With more investments in the auto industry in Mexico, the company will be able to retain more of the profits from a production standpoint. “Mexico stands to benefit from more stringent U.S. fuel-efficiency requirements because it’s more profitable to make small cars where labor costs are lower.”(Black, para. 6). SWOT Analysis People nowadays are becoming more educated and have better awareness of the causes of environmental disasters and are leaning more toward efficiency while gas prices are rising. Therefore, consumers are found driving smaller cars that consume less gas and cause less harm to the atmosphere. The smart cars became popular throughout the world, even in countries which are considered to be top petroleum exporting countries, giving an indication that the needs and wants of consumers are changing with time. The strengths of the Smart Car manufacturers are the low competition, high demand on fuel efficient vehicles, their low prices, and their attractive styles. As for their weaknesses, smart cars can only fit two to four persons, depending on the vehicle’s style; therefore its targeted consumers are limited to certain people. Additionally, the matter that concerns consumers is the safety aspect. People driving smaller cars are considered to be less protected in case of accidents; therefore manufacturers will have to consider high safety features and standards that may increase the cost of production. Competition We have to look at who we will be going up against to determine how successful our Smart car will be. We will have to weight the pros and cons from our Smart car to those of our competition. Once we do that we can figure out way to set us apart from the pack. Who is our competition' In the Smart car department, we have competitors from the Mini Cooper and the Toyota Prius. These models have comparable specifications such as; size, weight, fuel consumption and price. We also have to look at all the other types of automobile from all manufactures. They are motorcycle, cars, trucks, sport utility vehicles. Even though these types do not compare to our specifications, the consumers have used them for many years Market Needs Smart Cars can save money on gas and space in the garage. Smart Cars offer an economical way of transportation; still keeping with today’s stylish and innovative cars on the market. Smart Cars will offer quality craftsmanship; customers want a product that has a considerable lifetime. Smart Cars will last a very long time and comes with a lifetime guarantee. Smart cars have well-thought-out designs. The design of the vehicle makes it a smart car; the design, taking a normal sized car and fitting everything needed into a mini-car. Smart cars customer service is excellent; from the manufacturer to the dealership and everyone that is involved in the process of matching the product to the customer or servicing the customer in anyway, are training to build a rapport with each customer. Justification “Smart Car” We chose the smart car as our product of choice because of what smart car stands for: • Economical, gas prices are increasing day-by-day; the savings will affect us all. • Eco friendly vehicle, the smart car will help to reduce gas emission and stress free parking. Recyclable material, smart car extends into the component materials used to produce it. Up to 95 percent of the vehicle is recyclable (Mercedes-Benz, n.d). Conclusion Smart Cars manufacturers have the opportunity to invade the automotive industry and become the lead manufacturers of all vehicles if they achieve what the market is demanding for. For the past few years, economies have witnessed the affect of their crisis on the automobile industry along with the rapid rising of gas prices. Consumers’ needs and wants are changing, making them target their expenditures into buying products that cost less and last longer. Reference Black, T. (, June  2010). More Car Jobs Shift to Mexico. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_27/b4185010570308.htm  Mercedes-Benz. (n.d). The Smart. Retrieved from http://www.thesmart.ca/smart-world-20-reasons-to-love-smart/804a6264-8c43-5b63-89ef-44f8dee2374f Vasilash, G.S.(2008). A Brief History Of Smart: Production Car As Fashion Statement. Automotive Design and Production, 120(1),38. Retrived from EBSCO host.