Toyota International Marketing
Table of contents
1. Executive Summary 1
2. Introduction 2
3. Internationalization 2
3.1 Proactive Motivations 3
3.2 Reactive Motivations 4
4.Foreign Market segmentation and targeting 5
5. Environmental SWOT Analysis 8
5.1 Strengths 8
5.2 Weaknesses 9
5.3 Opportunities 11
5.4 Threats 12
6. International Marketing Objectives 13
7. Foreign Market Entry Strategy 14
7.1 Entry Mode Choice Framework 14
7.2Desired Mode Characteristics 15
8. Product/ Service Mix Preparation 17
8.1 Toyota’s Adaptation Strategy 17
8.2 Toyota’s Standardisation Strategy 18
8.3 Service Mix 18
8.4 Branding 19
8.5 Country-of-Origin Effects 19
9. Conclusion 20
1. Executive Summary
This report focuses on the possible market expansion strategy of the Toyota Prius in China’s Automobile market. Since its entry to China as a 50-50 joint venture with Tianjin Auto in 1994, Toyota has done just as well as it has done in other countries globally. Its reputation for good quality and affordable vehicles were the reason for this success. It was therefore uncharacteristic that the Prius lacked this appeal in the Chinese market despite being a hit in most developed countries, especially the USA.
To get to the bottom of this, a series of steps and analysis were conducted. First of all, market selection was done using the appropriate foreign market segmentation and targeting techniques. This required a series of segmentation criteria to be fulfilled, developing appropriate segments, and screening of the segments, micro-segmentation and finally, market entry. China was selected for some reasons, the prominent one being it is currently the worlds most polluted country and is thus, looking for ways to cut back, especially in tailpipe carbon emission. Next a SWOT analysis was conducted for a better understanding of the selected market environment. The strengths of Toyota lie in its reputation high quality, low cost vehicles. Its weakness was minimal attention paid to its Chinese
1. Executive Summary 1
2. Introduction 2
3. Internationalization 2
3.1 Proactive Motivations 3
3.2 Reactive Motivations 4
4.Foreign Market segmentation and targeting 5
5. Environmental SWOT Analysis 8
5.1 Strengths 8
5.2 Weaknesses 9
5.3 Opportunities 11
5.4 Threats 12
6. International Marketing Objectives 13
7. Foreign Market Entry Strategy 14
7.1 Entry Mode Choice Framework 14
7.2Desired Mode Characteristics 15
8. Product/ Service Mix Preparation 17
8.1 Toyota’s Adaptation Strategy 17
8.2 Toyota’s Standardisation Strategy 18
8.3 Service Mix 18
8.4 Branding 19
8.5 Country-of-Origin Effects 19
9. Conclusion 20
1. Executive Summary
This report focuses on the possible market expansion strategy of the Toyota Prius in China’s Automobile market. Since its entry to China as a 50-50 joint venture with Tianjin Auto in 1994, Toyota has done just as well as it has done in other countries globally. Its reputation for good quality and affordable vehicles were the reason for this success. It was therefore uncharacteristic that the Prius lacked this appeal in the Chinese market despite being a hit in most developed countries, especially the USA.
To get to the bottom of this, a series of steps and analysis were conducted. First of all, market selection was done using the appropriate foreign market segmentation and targeting techniques. This required a series of segmentation criteria to be fulfilled, developing appropriate segments, and screening of the segments, micro-segmentation and finally, market entry. China was selected for some reasons, the prominent one being it is currently the worlds most polluted country and is thus, looking for ways to cut back, especially in tailpipe carbon emission. Next a SWOT analysis was conducted for a better understanding of the selected market environment. The strengths of Toyota lie in its reputation high quality, low cost vehicles. Its weakness was minimal attention paid to its Chinese