Introduction of Tesla in the Australian market

Question:

Write an essay on “Tesla Motor Inc”.
 

Tesla Motor Inc. has recently introduced energy efficient, battery powered electric vehicles in the United States of America and in some of the European Union countries. The Chief Executive Officer of the company aims to enter the Australian market with a promotional budget of one billion US dollar for projected sales of 20,000 units of Tesla vehicles in its first year entry in Australia. As a Tesla marketing manager the main aim of the report is to prepare a marketing plan for the Australian market for the year 2016-2017. The marketing plan includes the SWOT analysis, the pestel analysis, the marketing goals of the company and the marketing strategies. It also includes marketing mix and the competitor analysis. The marketing plan also includes competitor analysis, and positioning strategy. The main aim of preparing the report is to form a proper marketing plan so that the Tesla Motor company can achieve its target of selling 20,000 units of Tesla vehicles in Australia. It is essential for the organization to analyze the factors that will affect the company’s product and market when it enters the Australian market. The main aim is to analyze the Australian market and understand the present scenario of the economy so that the company can have an idea about its sales and profit. The manager should analyze the behavior of the customer because they are the purchasers of the product. It is also essential to recognize the competitors that it has in the Australian market so that the manager can form strategies to overrule its competitors and create a unique brand name in the market. Marketing strategies includes various tools that the company can use and the main objective of forming a marketing strategy is to accomplish the goals and objectives of the firm (Mangram, 2012).  

Tesla Motor Inc. is an automotive industry that is based in America. It is an automotive and energy Storage Company that designs, manufactures and sells battery products, cars, electric power train and other electrical components. It is public company that operates under the government ownership and in the history in 2013 for the first time it accounted for profit. The company operates under the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol of TSLA. It has it’s headquarter in California and now is spread across 50 show rooms worldwide.  It has its market in United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia. The company at present introduces energy efficient, battery powered electric vehicles in the United States and European Union countries and plans to introduce the product in the Australian market as well. The company plans to sell 20,000 units of its product in the Australian market in the first year of its entry. It was founded in the year 2003 by a group of engineers in Silicon Valley. The main objective of the company was to prove that the electric cars are better than the ones that run on petroleum and diesel as it is more eco friendly and efficient. It is Technology Company that intends to manufacture and design a product with innovation (Tesla Motors, 2016).

Overview of Tesla Motors Inc.

Figure: Tesla Motor Inc. logo

The main goal of the manager of Tesla Company is to develop new market for its product especially in Australian market. It objectives include establishing a proper distribution and promotion channel so that it is able to expand the social networking in the presence of the internet and web. It also aims at achieving the sales target that it has set within a year through proper marketing strategies and plans. The main target is to capture the major part of the Australian market share and create a unique brand name among its competitors. It also aims at targeting new customers and maximizing sales through increasing its sale and reducing its cost of production. The company believes in innovation and it aims at launching a new product in the market that is more efficient and eco friendly than the previous product. It aims to capture as many customers it can in the Australian market and spread the brand awareness. The company also plans to spend one billion US dollar in the promotion of its new product that it has already launched in United States of America and European Union. The aim and the goal of the company are to promote its product not only in domestic market but in international market as well to grab as many customers it can. The aim of the company is to increase customer satisfaction as well as employee satisfaction. The marketing objective of the firm is to launch the product in a well established market so that the firm does not have to face any loss. It includes a marketing strategy that is set by the manager of the company to achieve the overall organizational goals and objectives (Jobber & Ellis-Chadwick 2012). 

Marketing strategies are the promotional or the distribution plan that an organization uses to accomplish its goals and objectives. It includes the strategies that include the external and the internal factors that affect the business, the strengths and weaknesses of the firm and also the opportunities and threats that the company has. It also includes marketing segmentations where the Australian market will be divided into subsection based on target customers. The marketing strategies of Tesla Company include targeting the Australian customers to sell its targeted products of 20,000 units in a year. Marketing strategies also includes marketing goals and objectives. The marketing strategy of Tesla Company is different from the other automobile industries. The customer contact point of Tesla includes giving test drive to its customers, and it also allows the customers to book the desired cars online. The new product that it is planning to launch in Australian market should also be made online so that customers can order and but the car without any hassle situation (Liu et al., 2014).

It is essential for the industries to analyze the external factors that affect the business and the market of the product. Pestle analysis helps the company analyze the external macro environmental factors that affect the business and the market. It helps the company in expanding its business in Australian market and it is only possible when the managers know the factors that are likely to affect the business of locomotives in Australian market. It shows and illustrates the environmental factors that are likely to affect the business (Yüksel, 2012).

Marketing goals and objectives of Tesla in Australia

Figure: PESTLE Analysis

Political factors- government of the economy greatly influence the business. Since Australia is a mixed economy government influences the economy. So it is essential for the company to analyze the tax structure and the government that influences the market before launching the product. Tesla Company should be aware of the political, factors that are influencing the market in order to avoid any difficulty that it is likely to face. Environmental protection law is the factor that is most likely to affect the business of Tesla when it launches its product in Australian market. Since the Australian market is politically stable the political factors are less likely to affect the market of the economy (Yüksel, 2012).

Economic factors- the economic factors that influence business are the changes in the interest rate, growth condition, GDP growth rate, price level and the employment rate. Economic growth in Australia depends on the service sector so it essential for the firm to realize and know the economic factors that are likely to affect the business and the market. To launch a new product in the new market it is essential for the firm to realize the interest rates or the tax rates that exist in the market. It is essential for the firm to also know the fuel and the electrical cost in the Australian market to launch the electrical car in Australian market (Yüksel, 2012).   

Social factors- social factors that affect the business and the market are beliefs, values, customs, attitude, lifestyle, sex, demography and behavior. Customer’s behavior greatly influences the market and it is essential for the firms to realize the lifestyle of the Australian customers. The idea of having and launching electrical car that are energy efficient will reduce the environmental cost as it will not deplete the resources that it uses. Social status is also likely to affect the business in Australia because people judge each other’s status based on the type of car they own. Idea of having electric car improves the social status of people (Yüksel, 2012).  

Technological factors- technology plays a great role in business specially the in the automotive industries. Technological advancement has helped the industry improve its product such as introduction of electric cars and computerization of cars has improved the business. Improvement in technologies and infrastructure is essential for the development of the automotive industry especially when it is planning to launch a product in new Australian market (Yüksel, 2012).

Environmental factors- various environmental factors play an important role in developing business. It is essential for the industries to develop a product that is eco friendly in nature and protecting environment has been a major challenge for the industry.  Factors also affect the business. It is essential for the organization to make sure that the product that it is launching is eco friendly. The company has an added advantage because Australia is rich in its natural resources (Yüksel, 2012).

Legal factors- government policies such as environmental protection laws and rules also affect the business that the manager should keep in mind before launching any product. It is essential to identify that the company fulfills all the norms or not. Various green movements such as energy loan programs, also affects the business and the market for the product (Yüksel, 2012).  

Marketing strategies to accomplish goals and objectives

Swot analysis is another form of marketing strategy that analyzes the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats of the company. It is essential for the firm to analyze the strengths and the weaknesses that the company has and the opportunities and threats that it is likely to face.

Figure: SWOT analysis

Strengths- the main strengths of Tesla motors is that it is the special force so it recruits only the best personality in its company that is very efficient and productive. The company also developed the first fully electric sports car ‘The Roadster’ due to which it has a strong brand name of automotive industries. It is also a strong supplier to other manufacturers like Toyota. The company has strong technological expertise in the area of electrical. The company also has ability to develop a new product completely in house (Ayub et al., 2013).

Weaknesses- the production of good completely in house leads the cost of production to rise of the product. The prices of its products are higher than their competitors who sell engine powered vehicles. The company also indulges itself in selling only electric cars but people are still suspicious of the product. The company is just ten years old so it has limited operation history. The car industry is very competitive in nature so the profit of the firm is very fluctuating in nature. The demand for the locomotive is not high in Australia so it might not be able to sell the targeted products in the Australian market (Ayub et al., 2013).

Opportunities- the opportunities that Tesla has are the support from the government that it gets. It also gets exemption from the government in form of duties and taxes because the company produces environmental friendly product globally. The world is running out of oil so the demand for the electric car that the company produces is likely to rise in future. Improvement in the quality control process of the company can reduce the cost of production that will increase the profit of the company (Ayub et al., 2013).

Threats- the main threat that the company faces is from its competitors. The current business models make it difficult for the company to be able to produce, distribute and sell the cars. The pricing strategy of the industry of skimming is nit used in any other industry that increases the risk for the company. The main threat is from the competition. The electric car increases the tendency of accidents that leads to cause of fear among the customers. The electric cars are till expensive when compared to other cars that are likely to decrease the demand for it in near future (Ayub et al., 2013).

Marketing mix another tool used in marketing planning that includes the four Ps such as price, product, place and promotion. It is a business tool used by the businesses and the managers in market to promote its products.

Figure: marketing mix

Price- price plays an essential role in the market because the demand for the product depends on the price. The company will set the price at the level where it is able to cover up the cost and that is affordable by customers. The company should not charge high price for the product that it is planning to launch in new Australian market. This will help the company attract more customers and will help in increasing the competitive advantage in the market (Hollensen, 2015).

PESTLE analysis of the Australian market

Promotion- since the firm is launching a product that is new in the market it is essential for customers to be aware of the product. Various promotion techniques can be used such as internet, social media, sales promotion, digital marketing and direct sales of the products. The company is ready to spend one billion dollars in the promotion techniques and methods. It means increasing customer awareness of the product or the grand that it is planning to launch (Hollensen, 2015).  

Place- – the place where the distribution of the product is Australia as well as the international market. It is an Australian based international company. Place is the distribution area. Headquarter of the company is in California where all the manufacturing and assembling takes place. The company distributes its products to various other places as well such as Europe, Australia, and Asia (Hollensen, 2015).

Product- the company is involved in manufacturing many products such as automotives and energy efficient car. It is also involved in manufacturing and designing products that includes batteries and energy resources. The company has recently introduced energy efficient, battery powered electric vehicles in the United States of America and in some of the European Union countries. It is planning to launch the product in the Australian market recently (Hollensen, 2015).  

Market segmentation means division of market into section and subsections I order to form a proper target market to which the products will be sold. Market segmentation depends on the various factors such as geographical, demographical and environmental. The segment that the company will target in Australia will include people that are looking for electric premium cars and luxury cars. It will target the Australian market that is well developed. The customers that will be targeted are the ones who have high standard of living and are rich and affluent willing to spend more on vehicles. The company is positioned as pure electric drove but it is more of sporty and luxurious. Mainly the male members of the country will be targeted because they are the ones who are likely to buy the car. The customers who are eco friendly and care for the environment are the ones who are most likely to purchase the product (Cui & Choudhury 2015).

Positioning and branding strategy is another marketing tool used by companies to achieve its goals and targets. Positioning strategies is creating a unique position in the market. It includes competitor analysis. A proper strategy can help the company mitigate the ill effects of competition.  Competitive advantage can be achieved by formulating a good marketing plan and targeting the customers who are not aware of the technology that it is going to launch. The main tagline of the company is burn rubber not gasoline it is an automobile sector that produces electric vehicles (Huang & Sarigöllü 2012).

The automotive industry is highly competitive in the world. It is essential for the organization to analyze the strategies of its competitors in order to increase the competitive advantage. The major competitors of Tesla motor company are Chevrolet Volt, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, Toyota Rav Hybrid and Smart car. The marketing strategies helps the firms achieve and create unique brand name in the Australian market. The main threat of the company is from its competitors. It is essential to analyze the strategies of its competitors before making any marketing strategy (Upson et al., 2012).   

Conclusion

Hence it can be concluded that forming a good marketing plan is essential for the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. It helps in good coordination of the employees that helps in increasing the profit and increasing the brand awareness. It is essential for the Tesla motors to analyze the environment and market of Australia before launching any product in the Australian market.   

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