Abstract
The American automobile company is planning to penetrate into the Spanish automobile sector with hybrid cars. The Spanish automobile industry has gained a significant attention of various global vehicle manufacturers due to a remarkable growth and lucrative contribution in the national GDP. However, the most noticeable factor is a constant increase in demand for automobiles. The increase in demand is a subsequent effect of a fall in fuel prices in Spain in the past few years. The probability of success for American car manufacturers is expected to be higher due to the current market conditions, which are feasible for penetration. However, this longitudinal research would implement both primary and secondary approaches to data collection for a balanced, reliable, and justified result. The extraction of relevant literature and aligning the dates of upcoming seminars would be the initiation of the research. The research aims to study the survival feasibility of American hybrid cars in Spain by evaluating and comparing the various market and consumer dimensions in a balanced manner.
The Spanish automobile industry has been a significant mode of attention for the global economies, particularly for economies of European nations. The aim of this research is to study the feasibility of American hybrid vehicles in the Spanish market in context to revenue, profit, market share, cost, and time. Discussing the time factor briefly, the automobile sector in Spain has gained a vast growth since past five years. The research will aim to study the feasibility of time separately for evaluating the effectiveness of decision of investment.
Country Overview
In 2014, the country has manufactured more than 2.4 million, which signifies a clear growth of sector by 11.1%, resulting due to increasing in international demand by 8.51%. The statistics made the Spanish automobile industry the second largest producer in the Europe and ninth largest in the global ranking (The Corner, 2015).
According to Caixa Bank (2014), the automobile sector has become a backbone of Spanish economy today. The industry had contributed to the national gross domestic product (GDP) by 6.7% and raised the employment by 8.1% in the country. The strength of their automotive industry has raised the significant attention of the American automobile industry to invest in the economy. Dowsett & White (2015) claimed in their research that Ford Motors made the most lucrative investment in Spanish automobile industry recording 2.3 billion euros in 2011 and additional 1.2 billion euros in 2013. Moyano-Fuentes, Sacristan-Diaz & Martinez-Jurado (2012) stated that the core success of the Spanish automobile industry is the lean production method that strengthens the relationship between customers and suppliers. Besides, the production method adopted by this sector, even increases the supply of information that is essential for industrial sustainability. On the contrary, Galarrage, Ramos, Lucas & Labanderia (2014) stated that the Spanish economy is energy efficient due to affordable fuel prices. This signifies another strong reason for investing in the Spanish economy. The hybrid cars consume minimal fuel and economic fuel prices would increase the demand for the vehicles to a next level.
Moreover, the organizations currently operating in the Spanish sector conduct their activities in an environmentally friendly manner, which provides a competitive advantage to the entire industry and a reason for the concrete survival of American manufactured hybrid cars (Mondejar-Jimenez et.al, 2015). The evaluation of different aspects and success of Ford Motors suggests that the Spanish automobile industry is promised to accept the hybrid cars offered by other American manufacturers (Buck, 2013).
Topics to Investigate
This research aims to investigate the various dimensions in order to justify the feasibility of American hybrid cars in the Spanish automobile market. First, the research will conduct a detailed insight of Spanish automobile industry in both qualitative and quantitative manner. Discussing the qualitative aspects, the research will study the consumer behavior and consumer perceptions towards the purchase of American manufactured automobiles. Besides, the research will investigate the industrial standing of Spanish manufactured automobiles that will directly compete with the international brands.
Further, the research will focus on studying the consumer perception and consumer behavior of the American population in order to compare them and propose significant changes in the game plan. The comparison will assist the American manufacturers to evaluate and make precise decisions regarding the contacts and strategies that are essential for successful penetration in the Spanish automotive sector.
Nonetheless, this research aims to study the quantitative aspects of the variables such as growth in population, economic trends, employment rates and influencers, and consumer spending patterns. These variables will allow the American company to forecast the market demand that is important for deciding the number of manufacturing units and develop a marketing strategy in a suitable manner. A detailed economic insight is essential to quantify the market structure and tendency of competition that the company will encounter.
Methods and Resources
The methodology of the research will involve both primary and secondary approaches to data collection. The literature review will incorporate the findings of past studies that were conducted under the investigating contexts. The field activities will collect first-hand data in order to balance the past and present market conditions assisting in the justified evaluation.
The sources of data collection are distributed equally in primary and secondary segments. Discussing the primary segments, the sources would include:
Questionnaire for both qualitative and quantitative data
Interviews for qualitative data
Personal observation of qualitative data
Surveys for quantitative data
Scientific experiments for quantitative data
The secondary sources will comprise:
Sales record as internal source
Customer feedback as internal source
Feedback from distributors as internal source
Journals as external source
The Internet as external source
Work Schedule
The schedule of work is distributed in three systematic annual stages that define the conducts of each year:
The first year is a stage of preparation that will include the participation in seminars and extraction of relevant literature assisting the subsequent years
The second year will involve field research and collection of primary data in order to understand the industrial insights on personal grounds
The final year will be devoted to dissertation writing, which will convert data into justified information addressing each topic of investigation
Call to Action
The research conduct will begin by searching the external sources of secondary data, which will line-up relevant journals and articles for the research. Moreover, the internet would be utilized for extracting the dates of different automobile and cultural seminars taking place in Spain and the United States of America (USA) in order to schedule the attendance and gain significant information.
References
Buck, T. (2013). Spain’s Car Industry at Heart of Nascent Recovery. Financial Times. Retrieved 1 September 2016, from http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/155f4564-42ec-11e3-8350-00144feabdc0.html#axzz4Iz3dKSkJ
Caixa Bank, (2014). The Automobile Industry is Revving up in Spain. Caixa Bank Research. Retrieved 1 September 2016, from http://www.caixabankresearch.com/en/-/1409im-f8-es
Dowsett, S. & White, J. (2015). Ford is Making the Biggest Ever Investment in Spain's Auto Industry. Business Insider. Retrieved 1 September 2016, from http://www.businessinsider.com/r-ford-completes-23-billion-euro-investment-in-spanish-car-plant--2015-2
Galarraga, I., Ramos, A., Lucas, J., & Labandeira, X. (2014). The price of Energy Efficiency in the Spanish Car Market. Journal Of Transport Policy, 36, 272-282. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ibon_Galarraga/publication/267628841_The_price_of_energy_efficiency_in_the_Spanish_car_market/links/548ff4ee0cf214269f264310.pdf
Mondéjar-Jiménez, J., Segarra-Oña, M., Peiró-Signes, Á., Payá-Martínez, A., & Sáez-Martínez, F. (2015). Segmentation of the Spanish Automotive Industry with Respect to the Environmental Orientation of Firms: Towards an Ad-Hoc Vertical Policy to Promote Eco-Innovation. Journal Of Cleaner Production, 86, 238-244. http://dx.doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.08.034
Moyano-Fuentes, J., Sacristan-Diaz, M., & Martinez-Jurado, P. (2012). Cooperation in the Supply Chain and Lean Production Adoption. International Journal Of Operations & Production Management, 32(9), 1075-1096. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01443571211265701
The Corner,. (2015). Spanish Car Industry Turning a Corner. The Corner. Retrieved 1 September 2016, from http://thecorner.eu/spain-economy/spanish-car-industry-turning-corner/43387/
