The Motoring Industry

Question: Discuss about the Motoring Industry. Answer: Analysis The motoring industry or the automobile industry is one of the oldest industry in the world. This industry was often considered as the part of manufacturing industry. However, with time, the demand for automobiles increased and then automobile industry was an independent industry in itself. BMW is a German luxury car manufacturer that was established in the year 1916. In the last 100 years, the company has expanded at a global scale. Today, it has more than 110000 employees and it has the revenue of 80 billion Euro (Kumar, 2016). Mercedes is also a German car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Daimler AG. The company was founded in the year 1920 and since then it has expanded in different parts of the world. Today. Mercedes-Benz is one of the best-known and established automotive brands in the world. Audi is also a German car manufacturer that was established in the year 1969 (Kumar, 2016). However, 1969 was the re launch of the brand and the origins of Audie could be traced back to 19 32. In fact, Audi is the first German car manufacturer to manufacturer left hand driver vehicles. All three companies BMW, Mercedes and Audi are successful at global level. The competition is high in the automobile sector. However, these companies have been able to create a niche for themselves with their competitive advantage (McMillan, 2013). There is a fundamental strategic difference in the strategic planning and selling proposition of these companies. For example, Mercedes has the competitive advantage of luxury. It targets the consumers that are willing to pay the premium price for luxury vehicles. Among all the three car manufacturers, Mercedes has the best interiors for its cars. BMW has the competitive advantage of robustness coupled with luxury. BMW has created a manly image in the market. BMW is the first choice of customers that wants style coupled with luxury and BMW charges a premium price for this combination. Audi also has a set of loyal customer base. Audi has created a niche for itself where the value positioning of Audi is the combination of the value positioni ng of BMW and Mercedes. Audi provides the luxury of Mercedes and style of BMW (McMillan, 2013). When it comes to the differentiation in the value chain. It can be said that Mercedes has differentiated itself from competitors at operations. Mercedes ensure that no other competitor can match the style of its car interiors. BMW has differentiated itself from competitors at Technology and Marketing Sales activities (Gonzalez Carcaba, 2015). Technology is a secondary activity of the value chain. However, BMW has been able to create a differentiation at this activity. The company is known for its high quality and trendy vehicles, equipped with latest technologies. The company also has effective marketing and sales strategy in place that enables BMW to develop a unique rapport with customers. Audi has differentiated itself from competitors at Service level. It is believed that Audi provides unmatched customer service and it increases customer loyalty. All the three players are doing well in the market. The good thing for these players is that the market is not saturated, instead of the competitive market. The new and emerging markets like India and China has opened the doors to new frontiers and opportunities (Kate Handa, 2014). It is observed that these companies have also started to focus on cost leadership strategies in the developing countries as the consumers in the developing nations do not have deep pockets and the consumers are price sensitive. It is expected that cost and quality would continue to be the major industry drivers. The good thing for these players is that the market is increasing. The luxury car market is influenced a lot by the external factors like economic factors and financial factors. The industry may witness the set back in the times of recession. This is the reason that these companies have started to focus to deliver the customer values also in support areas of value chain like infrastructure, technology and procurement (Kate Handa, 2014). The focus on the support activities also enables the firms to keep a check on their cost of operations. References Gonzalez, E., Carcaba, A. and Ventura, J., 2015. How car dealers adjust prices to reach the product efficiency frontier in the Spanish automobile market.omega,51, pp.38-48. Kate, N. and Handa, A., 2014. Luxury Car Market Scenario In India: An Empirical Review.International Journal of Trade Global Business Perspectives,3(4), p.1398. Kumar, A.V.C., Das, N., Khumar, A.P., Bakshid, S.A. and Vishnu, V., 2016. A Study On The Market Perception And Consumer Behaviour Ofhigh End Cars (Mercedes-Benz, Audi And Bmw).International Education and Research Journal,2(3). McMillan, J. (2013). The importance of market segments.McMillan Technology. Available on: https://www. mcmillantech. co. uk/articles/MarketSegments. pdf.