Toyota Prius – Leading a Wave of HybridsEssay Preview: Toyota Prius – Leading a Wave of HybridsReport this essayCHAPTER # 3MARKETING ASSIGNMENT # 2Submitted to:Mr. Hammad TahirSyed Asif Raza KazmiID: BME-1138PRIUS: LEADING A WAVE OF HYBRIDSWhat micro environmental factors affected the introduction and re-launch of theToyota Prius? How well has Toyota dealt with these factors?Ans:Firstly, the company has spent a lot of money on the re-launch of the new andimproved Pirus model which is over 40 million dollars. On the same note it was also able to generate a profit represented by a 120% rise in the sales after some time of the re-launch. Starting off with the main objectives of the company to provide a new and techno product to the target market it was able to cover its operating and marketing costs and also make build a profitable customer relationship.
Folks may be surprised by this news of increased sales, but the fact is that the company is now focused on getting an initial shipment of the Prius and making the Pirus, which is now the flagship model, available in the States across the country. It has been a difficult year for the company as some of its products such as the Miras are being discontinued as they were considered too bulky to carry comfortably. Secondly the new and improved versions of the car are being introduced to the country. The brand name and a new logo will be unveiled in Japan. To make use of some of that the company will introduce “Dollars” which will be developed in the next 5-10 years. On the one hand this will be used to sell the car as it is the brand name and the car they have in mind in the country and not the brand name. To put it another way the brand will be used as a marketing tool which is used to sell a new and exciting product to the people. Secondly as an economic side there is more work to be done. As a company we are focusing our time on what our customers want and what they ask for. The company’s ability to invest in what it is doing not only helps build up a growing business but also strengthens a long-term reputation since customers will see its products as they see them in our homes and our factories.The recent success that the Toyota team has experienced over the last week shows the value they can achieve as the market continues to evolve. We hope the company will follow up this momentum with its most successful products on the road as well which will also allow Toyota to expand the business further in the global markets.The company’s future in the field of electric cars and other electric vehicles will depend on its ability to develop its own internal design and make all of those products available to the market as soon as possible. This will be done using an external and market-leading proprietary technology developed in partnership with the European Union. We have already demonstrated a variety of our unique electric cars such as the Model S Charger which includes a new fully electric charging system that allows you to charge the vehicle like an existing EV in just a few minutes at a time. However we are also using a new standard lithium ion battery which powers the new-generation Prius with just one charge each. We are also leveraging our existing development efforts to develop an electric mobility service that we want to launch soon with the European Union’s Global EV Development Programme and the United States with its Electric Vehicle Trade Promotion Authority.This new business strategy combines the traditional energy saving and eco-friendly approaches of the US and Canada with the world’s leading market segment in the electric car. This way Toyota will continue to sell a long term plan that takes a look at the overall product development priorities and trends around the world.We will bring in the innovative ideas, partnerships and investments in the electric power business which we believe can drive the innovation in the electric motor business to make high quality and cost effective electric products for everyone. If not one of those innovators, rather than the most expensive plug-in electric cars now being sold in China, we can hope that these opportunities to develop the electric motor in Japan and Australia will come about fast as well with a great deal
Secondly, the agents helped promote the new brand of hybrid. Since the company did not want to take any chance for interpretation of the features of Pirus, they did not offer online purchase facility to customers. Thus, Toyota hired agents and provided professional training to them to provide maximum customer satisfaction.
Thirdly, the company¶s main target was those customers who were µtechies¶ and were ready to buy the product at its launch. The company made sure that their focused customers were well informed before the products launch i.e. 2 years before. Then, the company¶s marketing strategies also included taglines with emotions which were very effective in its promotion. In summer 2004, the gasoline prices rose so the demand for Prius increased and so did the waiting lists. Toyota tried its best to cover the entire demand but still left some customers unsatisfied. Later on, it overcame this problem by a 33% and then a 100% rise in the monthly production.
Moreover, the major competitor of Toyota was Honda in the hybrid market. But the extensive and large scale advertising campaigns and strong, overall marketing strategies helped Toyota to gain the competitive edge over them as well as the rest of the smaller rivals.
Then, the incentive provided by the government of tax deduction also helped but the increase in the speed limit was a hindrance for Toyota which was also covered by the heavy marketing strategies.