Abstract
In the 1970s and 1980s, European, American, and Japanese carmakers shared two trends that signalled the first steps towards globalisation in the car industry: (1) product proliferation; and (2) convergence in marketing management methods. Consequently, a set of “universal” industry factors drove carmakers towards strategies of the same nature, wherein execution was often the ultimate success factor. The first step was to extend the product line (i.e. product proliferation) by introducing products that were not completely new but which marked an improvement on previous versions (i.e. annual model) into the market. By studying customers’ new demands and expectations or based on technological improvements, companies were able to take the second step by introducing new products that completed their existing range, to increase their market share. Gradually, some factors started to generate convergence in marketing strategies: (1) strong capital intensity; (2) long product life cycle; (3) competition based on the proliferation of models; (4) every country having its “national champions” and the political sensitivity of the car industry; (5) the relative stability of base technology; and (6) the fact that the major carmakers assembled around 25–40% of the final product. The outer percentage was supplied by firms that sold to everybody. Differentiating strategies therefore became more and more difficult.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Chandler A (1963) Chapters in the history of the American industrial enterprise. Beard Books
Johnson S, Jones C (1957) How to organize for new products. Harv Bus Rev 35:39–62
Nieuwenhuis P, Wells P (1994) The automotive industry and the environment. Woodhead Publishing, NY
Rapaille G (2004) Seven secrets of marketing in a multicultural world. Tuxedo Publications, NY
Shimokawa K (2010) Global automotive business history. Cambridge University Press
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Candelo, E. (2019). The Dawn of Globalisation. In: Marketing Innovations in the Automotive Industry . International Series in Advanced Management Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15999-3_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15999-3_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-15998-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-15999-3
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)