Business Policy - Analysis of the European automobile industry

Résumé du document

I have chosen the automobile area and I have studied this sector on the European market. It includes many products, cars of course, but also trucks and tractors. First, I have described the general features of this market- its size, the main manufacturers, countries that are the main producers, and what are the main issues. That is why I have written a short presentation. Then, I have identified what factors could influence constructors. To reach this goal, I have used several analysis models to understand the macro-environment. To better understand this environment I had to, of course read a lot of books, newspapers and articles on the web. Finally, I have analysed the major risks for this industry and have predicted how the future can be. Effectively I have written several scenarios and I have visualized the automobile's future.

Extraits

[...] These groups which have got several brands of vehicles are located in several sectors. Example: Ford group. The American group Ford is constituted of many vehicles brands: Manufacturers' name Ford Mazda Volvo Aston Martin Jaguar Nationalities America Japan Sweden United Kingdom United Kingdom Strategic groups This multinational group has vehicle brands in 4 of the 6 strategic groups. It a huge advantage because this organization can compete in almost all the segments. There are others groups which have got this competitive advantage: Strategic groups Groups Fiat Volkswagen BMW DaimlerChrysler X X X X X X X X X X X X X X We can imagine that every group will try to be present in each strategic group in the future. [...]

[...] European Union automobile industry producers have a combined output that exceeds that of the U.S. and Japan, however no one individual EU country produces more than its U.S. or Japanese competitor. The importance of the automobile industry on the economies of individual EU countries varies from country to country; Germany, France, Spain and the United Kingdom automobile production represents the major producers. The European Union's largest automotive producer is Germany estimated at of European Union's total production, followed by France at Spain at and the United Kingdom at There are over 20 vehicle manufacturers in the European Union, with the largest automakers producing multiple brands, such as General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Volkswagen, Fiat and Peugeot Citroen. [...]

[...] They are in charge of testing new cars which will be selling on the European market. They provide the public with independent, realistic and accurate information about the safe performance of individual car models. The result of a test for a car has a dramatic effect on sales following it was safe or not. It is also a medium to protect the European market from news foreign manufacturers (e.g.: In September 2005 The Times reported that when first Chinese car to arrive on European roads, the Jiangling Landwind, scored the lowest ever rating on crash tests carried out by the ADAC, the German equivalent of the (The Automobile Association), so it was a very bad promotion for the Chinese firm, nobody want to buy one, the European constructors are protected). [...]

[...] - 21 - Automobile industry will virtually not change. Conclusion: Scenario Despite the European efforts (e.g.: subsidies granted by the European Union), European carmakers will not succeed to develop efficient vehicles which run with renewable energy. They will continue to manufacture hybrid cars due to the lack of petrol. Consumers will be unhappy because of the growth of the pollution and also because the fuel for these cars will be very expensive (petrol will become rare so). Whereas, the foreign companies, especially from Asia, will have a technological advantage on this point and will succeed to manufacture clean cars. [...]

[...] Because of all these factors, the European companies will go bankrupt. So they will be acquired by Asian manufacturers. Conclusion: - 22 - Sources Websites: http://www.euroncap.com EuroNCAP: Assessment of the safety performance of cars sold in Europe. http://www.wikipedia.org/ It is a free online encyclopedia. A lot of information was available on this website concerning the automobile sector. http://www.acea.be/ Association of European Automobile Manufacturers: Main objective: help the European constructors; e.g.: provide statistics, informing its members about all trends http://www.dti.gov.uk/ Department of Trade and Industry: Help UK companies to improve their productivity and competitiveness. [...]