Toyota Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Toyota Case Study - Essay Example Toyota Auris – The Auris represents the second model of energy saving vehicle to be introduced to the UK market by Toyota. Like its predecessor, the Toyota Prius the car makes use of hybrid engine technology to deliver a vehicle with low running costs and other financial benefits such as low tax duties. However, the marketing mix and target audience for the Auris model are slightly different to that of the Prius. Where the Toyota Prius clearly targeted the practical family market, the Auris is a smaller vehicle and targets the compact car market. Despite the fact that the car is a smaller offering than the Toyota Prius, the vehicle is still aimed at the premium end of the segment with models still costing in excess of ?20,000 at the entry level. Like Prius the car targets those who are either environmentally conscious or who are looking for long term low cost motoring. One of the key selling features of the model is the low fuel consumption with a reported MPG of 74.3. When bo th of Toyota’s offerings in the energy saving vehicle market within the UK are considered, the message may ultimately be seen as a similar one. Both cars target those who are environmentally conscious or who are looking for low cost motoring in the long term. However, high initial costs and premium based pricing strategy (Brassington and Pettitt, 2006) ensure that Toyota has maintained its reputation as a supplier of high value premium cars in the UK market. The following tools give a situation analysis with regards to the external environment which may affect the performance of Toyota’s energy saving vehicles in the UK. PESTLE Analysis Political On the whole political changes have been... This essay stresses that despite Toyota’s premium based pricing strategy, the researcher considers that economic performance is likely to worsen in the coming years which may see a greater level of growth in the budget sector. As such, it is recommended that Toyota in the coming years adapt its pricing strategy to one based around a cost leadership model in relation to the environmentally friendly car sector. Here the company should take advantage of the falling costs of technology in its existing models to assist the development of a budget range of cars using exiting hybrid technology. This may give Toyota a significant cost based advantage in comparison to other companies who are still in the expensive R&D stage of the development of energy saving vehicles. This paper makes a conclusion that one of the major advantages seen in the marketing of the Toyota Prius has been the high level of association between the product and role models within society such as Hollywood celebrities. However, as yet Toyota has yet to make official use of such marketing techniques. As such, one recommendation of the report is that Toyota should adapt the promotional element of the marketing mix to make use of celebrity endorsements and other associations which may help to lift sales of both existing and new models. Here the researcher recommends that such changes to the promotional element of the marketing mix should be linked to a web marketing strategy including the use of viral methods and online social networks.