Which elements of the General Environment are significant to the future of the German luxury car industry? STRATEGIC FOCGERMAN PERFORMANCE/LUXURY CARS: IF YOU'VE SEEN ONE, HAVE YOU SEEN THEM ALL?GLOBALISATIONAudi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz (Mercedes have longcompeted against each other in the performance/luxurysegment of the car industry. Given that they implementsimilar strategies in many of the same markets throughoutthe world and emphasise similar dimensions to do so, thesefirms förm a strategic group. This means that the rivalrywithin this group is more intense than is the rivalry betweenmembers of this group and companies offering products thatare intended to functionally serve and satisfy a mass-marketappeal among large customer groups. One could even arguethat three substrategic groups exist for these firms in thateach offers products in the large, mid-size and small parts ofthe performance/luxury segment. (Think of the Audi S8 versusthe BMW 7 series versus the S Mercedes series as productsthrough which these firms compete against each other interms of large performance/luxury cars.)The similarities among these firms as they compete areextensive. For example, the Chinese and US markets are criticalto their success. With respect to China, an analyst noted that"BMW, Audi and Daimler's Mercedes-Benz units have benefitedas China's fast-growing wealthy population has flocked to high-end cars in recent years.' In response to this growth in demandfor their products, all three firms are investing billions of dollarsto expand production and their sales operations in China.models that are intended to significantly expand their sales. Oneway these competitors are doing this is to offer 'lower-pricedmodels that would draw younger, less affluent US customersaway from mass-market brands such as Ford Motor Co., HondaMotor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp'. A lower-cost version of thewww.clearlybetterdiesel.org} that touted diesel's benefits ofsuperior fuel economy and a reduced environmental impact.For the Western markets, the firms are introducing new To better serve the needs of younger consumers, all threeçòmpanies are 're-thinking everything from dashboardentertainment systems to the relative importance of mileageover horsepðwer to fundamental marketing strategies'. Aninitial outcome from these evaluation processes was a decisionto include smartly presented, smartphone-driven multimediaA3 sedan was Audi's initial offering to reach this objective. BMWdeveloped a new version of its top-selling 3 series sedan (the 320)that had a base price way below the least expensive car in thisseries. Similarly, Mercedes offered the CLA, a four-cylinder carwith a very competitive price. BMW got into this game a decadeago with its Mini, a car targeted at young drivers who they hopedwould get a Beemer (BMW) next time. Essentially, introducingsystems in models.As is often the case with strategic groups, the rivalry andstrategic moves among Audi, BMW and Mercedes has remainedstable over the years. As such, we can anticipate that the rivalryamong them will remain intense as they rely on similar strategicdimensions to implement similar strategies.Sources: B. Laban, 2003, The Mini: Making of a Modern Icon, Singapore: Collins;C. Carroll, 2013, Audi plans to attract more U.S. buyers with diesels, Wall StreetJournal, http://www.wsj.com, 8 February; V. Fuhrmans, 2013, Europe betsU.S. auto demand to stay high, Wall Street Journal, http://www.wsj.com, 16January; V. Fuhrmans, 2013, German auto makers to shake up luxury market,Wall Street Journal, http://www.wsj.com, 14 January; V. Fuhrmans & F. Geiger,2013, W to bolster its output in China, Wall Street Journal, http://www.wsj.com, 14 March; F. Geiger, 2013, Daimler boosts investment in China, Wall StreetJournal, http://www.wsj.com, 1 February; J. W. Whits, 2013, Beyond boomerbuyers: Car makers seek younger crop of customers, Wall Street Journal,http/www.wsj.com, 16 January.these products was a strong attempt by the three firms to lowerprice as an entry barrier to their products among consumers intheir 20s, 30s and early 40s.These firms are emphasising similar dimensions orproduct features to produce new models as well as someexisting ones. For example, diesel engines are important tothe companies and their efforts to sell more cars in China, theUSA and other countries as well. Because of this, the three ofthem joined a few other companies to develop a website (http://

The major impact on German automotive industry is due to economic and political factors. Due to…

Answered: Which elements of the General…

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Chapter2: Introduction To Spreadsheet Modeling

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Problem 20P: Julie James is opening a lemonade stand. She believes the fixed cost per week of running the stand...