Study on Strategy of Low-Price Vehicles Launched by Japan's Big Three

• Akabane Jun

  Yokohama City University

Bibliographic Information

Other Title

• 日系３大自動車メーカーの低価格車戦略の検証

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the background of low-price vehicles launched by Toyota, Honda, and Nissan (Japan's Big Three) in emerging automobile markets, and to evaluate their performance so far. <br>As discussed in several previous studies, Japan's Big Three delayed their entry into emerging markets and have suffered recently from sluggish growth. It is an urgent issue for them to cultivate emerging markets. Low-price vehicles are their master cards to address this agenda.<br>Basically, there are three low-price vehicle models, namely the Toyota Etios, Honda Brio, and Nissan Micra. We can find common points and differences when we explore the characteristics of the three models. We understand that all of the models have achieved high levels of local procurement and consequently low prices of around ten thousand US dollars. On the other hand, we also show that the Etios and Brio are aimed more at the Indian market, while the Micra is targeted more to the global market.<br>After discussing their characteristics, we establish our standpoints and evaluate the performance of the three models. As a result, we find that the performance of the models as a whole is less than expected. We clarify that both the Etios and Brio have not succeeded in raising the shares of Toyota and Honda in the Indian market. We also find that the expansion of global sales of the Micra is almost exclusively due to the development of a distribution network.<br>Finally, we analyze the background of the results. Consequently, we infer that the Etios and Brio have no apparent features that differentiate them from the small vehicles of other major makers, such as the Suzuki Maruti, and that they fail to appeal effectively to Indian consumers, while the Micra has lost its appeal, especially in advanced countries, because dramatic cost reductions have been accompanied by a decline in the feeling of quality.

Journal

• Annals of the Society for Industrial Studies, Japan

  Annals of the Society for Industrial Studies, Japan 2014 (29), 153-168, 2014

  The Society for Industrial Studies, Japan

Details

• CRID: 1390001205322295424
• NII Article ID: 130005064110
• DOI: 10.11444/sisj.2014.153
• ISSN: 18841015
• ISSN: 09187162
• Text Lang: ja
• Data Source:
  • JaLC
  • CiNii Articles
  • KAKEN
• Abstract License Flag: Disallowed