International Marketing Plan for a French car manufacturer, Renault: The launch of an electric car in the United States market

Résumé du document

Renault makes it clear on its website; that they have the ambition to be the first carmaker to offer zero emission cars to use, accessible to everybody. Electric cars are the ultimate answer to current problems related to environmental issues and noise pollution in cities. Technical innovations can now make possible a mass electrical supply at a reasonable cost. In addition, the electric car suits very well the changes in road use. Today, 87% of Europeans drive less than 60 km per day .

The purpose of this assignment is to create an international marketing plan of Renault's electric cars for the North American market, the United States of America. Renault insists a lot on his alliance with Nissan, already present on the North American market. This situation would allow the French car manufacturer to have some landmarks on this market with high potential in terms of car sales. Americans are known to use their cars very often, either for long or short trips. This cliché promises great potential for the introduction of electric cars on the market.

The best place to launch an electric car would be undeniably California, the world laboratory in new technologies. Sustainable development is a big concern in this state and implementing electric cars would be well received from people. Furthermore, price of oil and cost of maintenance is a huge budget for car users. That's why the opportunity for Renault to launch an electric car in the US market is very attractive in the current context.

Extraits

[...] In France, this system is not enough developed yet and this situation does not help the growth of the electric car. On that point, the United States are in advance, especially California, compared to other countries of the world. The opportunity is that drivers load their cars at home, in their garage. This way seems to be the easiest and fastest but it will take time too to make people adopt this new system and change their habits. Renault can count on government helps (bonuses) to incitate drivers to change their old cars, like in they did in 2008 during the financial crisis. [...]

[...] Those concerns encourage French car makers to improve their products and technologies in this direction and these high pressures are positive for the entire car industry as it brings overall improvement of products, practices and processes. Related and supporting industries show a vertical and horizontal integration in the French car industry, with suppliers and distributors present mainly in the European zone. These networks are well distributed in the European territory, up to the Far East (like Romania), but does not go beyond. [...]

[...] International Marketing Plan for a French car manufacturer, Renault: The launch of an electric car in the United States market Introduction Renault makes it clear on its website; that they have the ambition to be the first carmaker to offer zero emission cars to use, accessible to everybody. Electric cars are the ultimate answer to current problems related to environmental issues and noise pollution in cities. Technical innovations can now make possible a mass electrical supply at a reasonable cost. [...]

[...] That's why the opportunity for Renault to launch an electric car in the US market is very attractive in the current context. With 2.6 million vehicles sold in 2010, the Renault group reported record sales 14% compared to 2009). Concluded in March 1999, the Renault-Nissan Alliance is the first industrial and commercial partnership of its kind between French and Japanese company leading to 7,276,398 vehicles sold worldwide in 2010. Question Prioritize the reactive and proactive motives for exporting this product abroad and discuss the most critical barriers to the process of exporting? [...]

[...] Personal selling is oral communication with potential buyers of a product with the intention of making a sale. It's an expensive way of selling products (salesmen) and it's not a cost-effective way of reaching a large audience. In the United States, salesmen take really care of customer's expectations. The potential buyer has to feel important otherwise, he will go elsewhere. This how personal selling is seen in the US. The French method differs a little as salesmen considers that more freedom for the buyer is better for letting him know what he wants to buy or not. [...]