Toyota Prius has redefined the automobile industry with its daring mass production of a car hybrid never witnessed before. It is 19 years of success for Toyota for its popular brand since its launch in 1997. Today, the company is fighting to maintain the market share following the launch of various competing car models. The competition in the car industry continues to stir war among the motor giants with other c-class cars entry in the highly polarized market. Every car manufacturer is fighting for a slice of the market share to be able to remain relevant and maintain brand image among consumers.
Toyota new strategies in modifying its previous Prius models from Prius1 04, the XW10 chassis model, to the present Prius plug-in model is synonymous with maturity stage of the product lifecycle. According to Burton et al (2012), this stage is characterized by increased competition which we are now witnessing in the car industry with Toyota battling for its market share with other entrants in the c-category of cars. The maturity stage is also associated with a rapid change in consumer preference. The customers are easily fed up with a similar product and always looking for an improvement of the same or introduction of a new product altogether.
The company has been in the constant modification of the Prius model, capitalizing on previous weaknesses to manufacture an improved version which they always rebrand to reflect changes they have made or communicate the arrival of a new product to consumers. Also, the company has restructured its production processes to be able to save on the operation costs and gain competitive advantage associated with reduced production costs and enjoy economies of scales usually realized with mass production. Unquestionably, the Toyota Prius hybrid brand is at its maturity stage awaiting its last life cycle-the decline stage when other brands will overpower its market shares.
Interestingly, Toyota seems to perfect its game in marketing the hybrid car. The company uses marketing mix strategy to capture the attention of every car user. For example, the company has been making good use of the famous 4ps of marketing that will be discussed below, and how each P has achieved a measurable success that can be traced in its increased profit margin.
The product, as one of the 4Ps, has been exhaustively applied since the first production of the car model in 1997. The manufacturer has continued to produce improved version of the previous brand to create an all-time favorite hybrid car in the market. A slight failure noticed in the current brand will be solved in the following model to be released by the company in subsequent months on years. Today, we have witnessed series of four generation of Toyota Prius, representing an improvement of each model previously offered for sale.
Place, as the second Ps of marketing, has been successfully applied by the Japan-based car manufacturer. Toyota has tried to open branches in the European markets such as the UK market. The company has a total of 19 manufacturing facilities across the world with an additional nine joint venture licenses that facilitate in the distribution of the products worldwide. This has opened up more market opportunities and increased its client base.
Price, the third Ps of marketing has also been utilized to increase the product market share globally. The company has engaged in price discrimination globally with an aim of making the product appear attractive and affordable in those markets. Price discrimination has greatly contributed to Toyota global increase in revenue for its popular hybrid brand.
The promotion has taken center stage in selling the car in each target market. The company has been using popular car magazines to advertise for its models. It has also utilized television networks and reputable dailies to demonstrate how effective and unique their brand is compared to that of competitors. Additionally, the firm has also ventured into social media marketing to reach new clients and to announce the arrival of superior models for those that have been consuming previous models to spot the difference and try the new product.
Other strategies that have complemented the 4ps include product differentiation and time to time rebranding. Product differentiation has helped the customers identify the company’s product line among similar C-car series available in the automobile industry. Similarly, rebranding as a marketing strategy has been completely fused in the product marketing strategy as a way of influencing the purchase of a newly rebranded car which consumers always associate rebranding with improvement in quality and performance.
Although hybrid technology in the automobile industry has dominated the manufacturing process, it will be a market suicidal for the company to convert all its cars to hybrid. The following are some of the reasons why Toyota should not even think along the line of converting all its models to hybrid.
Secondly, the company itself has witnessed unprecedented consumers’ response towards its models, especially the European market. Despite setting up a manufacturing facility in the UK, the company market share has never exceeded 4% reflecting a dominant consumer behavior culture towards consumption of “imported” brands. A grave mistake to convert all the models to a hybrid will present unmatched financial losses associated with mass recall should they discover a massive fault in a newly released brand. It is easier to recall a specific product brand than an entire product line.
Lastly, the Hybrid brand faces fierce competition from other equal C-class vehicles and S-class models which are slowly gaining market share and it is a matter of time for consumers to jump over to something they will consider unique once the company has reached a dead end with its rebranding strategy because there is no going back. The company faces over six popular car brands offering the same comfort and performance as their famous hybrid brand. These brands include the Honda hybrid brand, Mercedes, c-class and S-class, BMW, Ford, Volkswagen, Audi among other luxury car models in the market.
References
Burton, P., Parker, G., & Lawley, B. (2012). 42 rules of product marketing: Learn the rules of product marketing from leading experts from around the world. Cupertino, CA: Super Star Press.
