Etude de cas Aixam

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Di Paolo David[pic 3]

B3 Business International

AIXAM

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Summary of the visit to the AIXAM head office

As part of our Sales Management studies, we had the chance to visit the AIXAM company located in Aix-les-Bains on Tuesday 16 November.

We met with the head of the Marketing and Communication department, Alison Whitaker, as well as Philippe Colancon, the group's CEO.

The Aix-les-Bains site is divided into two parts: the administrative part, where the director and his colleagues are based, and the factory part, where the license-free cars are assembled.

At the beginning of the visit, Philippe Colancon told us about the history of the company and how it became what it is today.

Specializing in cars without a license, the company was created in 1983, and in 2021 it has around 250 employees spread over two different sites located in Chanas where there are four factories used to create the various steel parts, and Aix-les-Bains where the cars are assembled and ready to be sold.

Market leader three years after its launch, AIXAM has sold over 300,000 cars since 1984 with an average of 15,000 vehicles delivered per year at an average price of €15,000.

AIXAM's first objective was to open the countryside to allow mainly elderly people to travel to towns far from their homes while being safe and comfortable in a car.

It was only in 2000 that AIXAM decided to conquer another clientele.

Knowing that 10% of the working population does not have a driving license and that young people can drive a car without a license from the age of 14, the company decided to revise the whole range of its models to avoid any discrimination and thus attract a more varied public.

As a result of this change, the average age of users has gone from 65 years old 15 years ago to 45 years old in 2020, with a distribution of 2/3 active people (18-65 years old) and +15% minors.

To strengthen its presence in the licence-free car market, the company can count on its presence in France (136 authorised dealers and 227 sales outlets) and abroad (26 countries).

To maintain its reputation, AIXAM uses many means of communication. Indeed, the image of the brand is permanently preserved thanks to their presence on various digital platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, but also television. The brand has been able to face the competition and adapt to the current fashion by offering content accessible to all ages and to everyone. Participation in trade shows and competitions attracts people by bringing them in for an open day, for example.

Despite the Covid19, AIXAM has not made any redundancies and has managed to maintain its activity by proposing more innovation for the future. The company plans to build a new factory in 2022 to increase their presence in the market for electrically powered cars. According to their estimate, all AIXAM vehicles will be 100% electric by 2022 with an average of 3000 vehicles sold against 350 in 2020.

Finally, I really enjoyed the visit as it was a very rewarding experience both professionally and personally. We were able to see, thanks to Alisson's explanations, how the company has implemented its strategy to become and remain the market leader. Also, we were able to make the link with our courses and really understand what we have learned during this module.

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