BMW, Honda, Toyota et Peugeot, qu’est-ce que toutes ces entreprises ont en commun? (document en anglais)

Introduction:

(Competitors) BMW, Honda, Toyota and Peugeot, what do all these companies have in common? These are some of the best known car manufacturers in the world.

(Definition of product) Cars are a necessity in the modern world. These are used to transport people and goods to various places. (Definition of sector)The automobile industries produce different shapes and sizes. (Customer behavior) All the customer has to do is walk in to one of these dealerships, check if the vehicle satisfies certain expectations then drive it off. The automotive industry has grown since the end of the 2nd world war. Cars are more comfortable, spacious and elegant.

The advantage of open markets creates high competition among the automotive players. It keeps the research and design divisions working constantly to build better and more fuel efficient cars.

In the 90’s the first hybrid car was introduced into the market. Other manufacturers have followed suit developing similar models. The fluctuating price of oil in the world market has helped in the sale of these new vehicles as well as compact cars.

CARRY OUT AN INDUSTRY SEGMENT ANALYSIS FOR THE INDUSTRY MARKET OF THE SWISS AUTOMOBILES MARKET.

PORTER’S FIVE FORCES

The five forces that Michael Porter has identified are widely used to assess the structure of any industry. They are:

• Threat of New Entrants

• Bargaining Power of Suppliers

• Bargaining Power of Customers

• Threat of Substitutes

• Competitive Rivalry between Existing Players

(Introduction of sector) Automobile is one of the most convenient transportation tools in our modern society today. Globalization enables foreign auto dealers to enter Swiss market easily and also creates competition

Threat of New Entrants: MEDIUM

The new entrants in Swiss market in my opinion is medium, because it exists strong barriers, such as very high capital requirements, also technology and licensing requirements, because of the brand loyalty of customers. The expansion of the foreign entrants decreases the market of American companies, for instance South Koreans cars. Competition between established companies is extremely strong, and it makes the industry very unattractive.

Suppliers’ bargaining power: LOW

Suppliers have a little power in an automobile industry. That’s because numerous suppliers rely on some particular auto manufacturers to buy their products. Each manufacturer has many suppliers. The main qualifications of the suppliers are the quality, cost, and delivery of the products. If suppliers can’t meet those basic considerations, it is hard for them to survive.

Power of buyer: HIGH.

Nowadays, there are various brands and models of the cars to choose from. The factors that affect consumer to make a buying decision are: the appearance, quality, price, and environmental effect.

People always want a new and nice looking car. For those rich people, they always purchase the new released and attractive model. Besides that, the quality of the car is an important issue.

The car has to be efficient, which means saving gas, protecting our safety, and running fast. In addition, since there are many competitors, consumer have more choices to select a cheaper, but good quality car. Moreover, because of the global warming and other environmental effects, a lot of the manufacturers make their cars unique in order to protect the environment. Based on a variety of the lifestyles, people choose to purchase a car in a different way.

Buyers have no loyalty and they have lots of power by switching from one brand to another and experiencing no costs. Therefore they make the industry highly unattractive. Also, I think, that substitutes such as buses, trains, motorcycles, bicycles and planes, make the industry medium attractive.

Threat of Substitutes: LOW

It is true that there are many of transportations substituting automobiles. They are bicycles, subways, buses, and trains. These substitutions really make our life easier if we live in the cities. On the other hand, for those people who live in small villages, car is the only transportation tool other than walking.

It is really hard to find substitute for a car. It becomes essential part of our modern life, like central heating and internet .But there is still few. One of them is motorbikes. But it is not threat to BMW with their big motorbike production. Bikes other substitute for a cars. There are becoming more popular every year. Public Transport is another substitute.

Competitive Rivalry between Existing Players: HIGH

Competition between existing automobile companies is high because there are too many choices for the customers. That may cause the industry earning lower profits when the cost of the competition is high.

According to this graph, there is a lot of demand for lower prices cars costing around 15,000 francs whereas; vehicles above 25,000 francs are difficult to sell.

Analysis of External Environment of the Swiss market - PESTEL:

POLITICAL

The Swiss market is open to all manufacturers, as Phuket have used Switzerland as test market, which means that no restrictions are applied. The future potential of Asian manufacturers to flood EU markets in case protectionist measures are not introduced by EU countries.

ECONOMICAL

Switzerland has the highest rate of car ownership in Europe, with 450 vehicles per thousand of population. The maturity of the target market is very high. The current maturity causes overcapacity issue and significant sales fall of car segments, as it appears that new cars are bought only to replace existing ones.

SOCIOCULTURAL

In recent years the demand has been mainly for lower price vehicles and standard features, Today, the south Koreans, like Hyundai, who are driving competition in the market. The changes of lifestyles and habits have a direct impact on the consumer expenditures. For instance, there is an increase preference for second car ownership. Another, impact

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