1. Introduction
In light of the constant rises in petroleum prices, climate changes and an economy recovering from the effects of the recent economic downturn, consumers have started to reconsider the usage of electric cars (Global EV Outlook, 2013). Electric Vehicles [EV] have been around since the 1830s, yet it is only recently that countries have experienced an increase in their production thus redefining tomorrow’s automobile and transportation industry. This year, the global production of EV is predicted to rise by 67% (IHS, 2014).
1.1 Market Trends
According to the Green Car Guide (2014), top Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) models include the BMW I3, Renault Zoe, Nissan Leaf
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2.2 Consumer
Tesla’s products target forward-thinking customers that are environmentally conscious and economically driven. Nevertheless, due to the different model types, three main consumer segments can be identified:
I. High-end sports car market: Sporty lifestyle with higher-income levels targeting a narrower market
II. Luxury vehicle sedan market: Higher-income individuals interested in more spacious vehicles
III. Mainstream vehicle consumer segment: Middle-income consumer segment interested in the basic
Although three target segments are identified it is important to understand that different customers might have the same need yet different perspective and receptivity levels. It is thus important to have a thorough knowledge of consumers’ behaviours and opinions for a brand like Tesla to succeed.
3. Consumer Behaviour Analysis
This section will focus on how the current target market of Tesla make decisions regarding the purchase of their automobile. In order to better understand the needs of our target customers a survey (see appendix; figures 5-14) was developed; the sample method used was convenience sampling. Due to the lack of resources and time this method was the most appropriate. The main drawback encountered was that the sample was unlikely to be fully representative of our target population, making it difficult to generalise our conclusions. This should be treated as a pilot study; a larger, more
Tesla electric cars first appeared as small, sporty two-seaters. On March 26, 2009, the Tesla Model S was released and marketed as the top-performing all-electric luxury SUV in its class. Considering the Model S’s impressive performance capacities, they make a sound argument. David Ener, writer for Canada’s “The Globe and Mail” newspaper describes his experience of driving the Model S
Through all of this information, Tesla and traditional gas powered car owners have learned more about the Tesla and how it is not as environmentally friendly as society may portray it to be. Hopefully the readers of this paper learn that you must be educated before they buy a certain product.
Tesla`s current objectives include creating a high demand for electric vehicles which ultimately will raise sales. This will be achieved as more awareness on the harm gasoline emissions cause on the environment is shown, and knowledge on electrical powered cars is gained. Tesla also plans to create customer loyalty with current customers and create customer referrals. Tesla will achieve this by continuing to have regular customer events, such as show rooms which display their new technology.
As of 2013, Tesla owned 43% of the market share of electric vehicles in Canada (EVWORLD, 2013) and the market is expected to continue to grow, as sustainable energy becomes more of a way of life than a movement. According to the Government of Canada, “the market for electric vehicles in Canada is growing as Canadians look for cleaner, more efficient vehicles. Research confirms that consumers in North America are willing to pay more for an electric vehicle if the environmental benefits are significant” (Government of Canada, 2010). With this expedited increase in purchases of electric vehicles, the Tesla Model S is positioned well to obtain its goal of increasing its existing market share.
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.
Opportunity: The electric automotive industry and Tesla should decrease both the costs of its batteries and in renewable energy to attract more purchasing customers.
Tesla has successfully combined demographics and psychographics to market their products. Tesla Electric Vehicle (EV) has addressed current consumers needs and solve our pollution problems. Some of the psychographic information that can relate to the current consumers can be the following:
The Nissan leaf has been positioned differently for different market segments. According to Solomon, though the job of the marketer is to create value, build customer relationships and satisfy their needs, it is difficult, as in todays’ complex society people have different needs and therefore it is important to segment markets and target them individually, therefore markets are segmented into different segments on the basis of demographics; age and gender, family structure, income, race, ethnicity and social class (Solomon, 2013). Using these different criteria, marketers segment their markets, according to particular characteristics, which they share, and then target them accordingly. Targeting is evaluating
In order for Tesla Motors to keep growing now and into the future, it is going to be important to expand their target market to reach more consumers. Expanding the target market to include generation Y (mid-20s to early 40s, middle class working adult), Tesla would be able to utilize their facility, while increasing production. This target market will be pinpointing the young professionals that are looking for an entry level luxury car. We are going to segment the market for our new targets in three categories: eco-friendly consumers, tech savvy and entry level luxury cars.
Tesla’s vision statement is “to create the most compelling car company of the 21st century by driving the world’s transition to electric vehicles” (Shield, 2014). According with the common themes of vision chapter 13, these statements must be broad, shared appeal, help deal with changes, reflect high ideals and define the organization’s destination and the basic rules to get there (Daft, 2016). On this paper, we are going to analyze the vision statement of this great company with the purpose of concluding if this is the vision, other companies should start applying in their industries.
Tesla Motors has confronted the market in an entirely unique way for the auto making business. Tesla plans to entirely bypass the dealer by providing vehicles directly to the consumer via the
Between 2003 and 2013 Tesla was arguably one of the most controversial companies. An innovative company with a breakdown idea, had no financial success in its first decade. With the addition of Elon Musk in 2008, Tesla had a fresh new face at the stern of its company and was poised to make big strides into the future. Those strides finally broke through in 2013 with its first truly positive financial year. However, this year was not without trouble as Tesla found itself in the news for the wrong reasons. On several occasions their Model S design had issues with car fires. Though this did not cause a complete catastrophe, it cased questions to the true safety of their vehicles. Tesla would fight back by arguing the safety of their vehicles saved the drivers lives in addition to unforeseen circumstances that caused the fires. Because of these incidents, investors did get spooked and expectation for the remainder of 2013 and projected 2014 were lowered, yet once again Tesla powered through and had their best year of existence. With these above factors, Tesla is at a true crossroads: do they continue the uphill climb that 2013 presented, or do they falter and fall pretty to its competitors.
Tesla use swinging by the fences strategy, which implement high risk business, however generate high return. First, we target the high end customer by producing high class product. We produce the product at the same level as Maserati, Porsche, etc. We need to make an high brand image for the brand, especially the Tesla brand is still new to the automobile industry. Telsa has this different aspect from other car nowadays, Tesla operated by battery or we could say Tesla produce electric car. After we got quite some revenue to expand our market, we will target new segmentation of customer, which lower than the above explanation. We produce a product with price range from US$ 50,000 – US$ 75,000, which has lower class than Maserati and Porshe. We use this marketing
Electric cars are becoming very popular in today’s world and are becoming more main stream. One reason for this is the need for automobiles that have a lower or a zero carbon footprint. For the majority of the history of the automobile, the propulsion system was a gas or a diesel engine that would run off of fossil fuels. The burning of fossil fuels is very hazardous to our world and also creates much toxic pollution. However, electric cars run off of electricity, which is a very clean and pollution free resource, depending on how the electricity was produced of course. In this paper we are going to examine the history of electric cars, look into modern electric car technology, and peer into the future of electric car technology to see if EVs might be the answer to dramatically reducing our global pollution.
Two parameters define Tesla’s industry competitive environment: what Tesla is today and what Tesla hopes to become in the near future. Today Tesla delivers an EV in the high-end luxury market ($70k+), but plans to deliver an affordable ($35K) small sized sedan in the next few years (Kaufman, 2015). The differences between Tesla’s current and future plans affect the threats and opportunities for potential entrants, industry competitors, and buyers in the near term and long term.