4.2 Market Segmentation        


1.0 Introduction

Australia has the largest per capita level of green house gas emissions in the developed world, mainly due to a heavy reliance on coal to generate electricity. Every person contributes 27.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, which is 27 percent higher than that of an average American citizen. (Peatling, 2004) This, included with the constantly rising fuel prices creates an ever increasing demand for more energy efficient and lower pollution level cars. Hybrid cars are a well known solution to the issue however consumer confidence in these cars is extremely low. A hybrid car is a car that can run off two or more sources of fuel, such as petrol, electricity or gas. Hybrid cars have been around for a very long time with the first one being built over one hundred years ago by Porsche. (A Hybrid Car, 2006) The following report is a marketing plan for the introduction of the Nissan Nuvu into the Australian market. The report will give a detailed situation analysis on the current Australian car industry with specific targeting of the environmentally friendly cars market segment, stating our marketing objectives for the introduction of the Nissan Nuvu and develop a detailed marketing strategy for this product. The Nissan Nuvu is shown in the picture below.

Picture: (Hybrid and Electric Cars Shine in Paris, 2008)

3.0 Product Evaluation

In order to maximise the marketing of the Nissan Nuvu, the product must be evaluated and analysed on a number of levels. Looking at the elements of a product, its brand name, strengths and weaknesses, aspects of competition products and a number of other factors enables us to price, place and promote the product accordingly in order to achieve optimum success.

3.1 Elements of the Product  

The Nissan Nuvu can be broken down into three levels; the core, actual and augmented products it offers.

3.1.1 Core

The core product is the benefit that consumers obtain when purchasing the product. In this case the core product would be a low-running costs and environmentally-friendly means of transport for city driving.

3.1.2 Actual

The actual product is the attributes of the product that combine to convey the core product. The Nissan Nuvu is a short, compact, three seater city car powered by an electric motor. Solar panels are situated on the roof which provides power to the motor and the car is built using an extensive amount of natural, organic and recycled materials. (Lavrinc 2008)

3.1.3 Augmented

The augmented product is the package of the actual product and the additional features and services that come with it. For the Nissan Nuvu it is the actual product listed above along with services that would be decided by the actual distributers of the product at the point of sale. Such services are only prospective but would include things like car warranty, car maintenance and servicing for the first 1000kms, home delivery and opportunity of choosing additional features on the car.

3.2 Product Classification

The Nissan Nuvu is classified as a consumer good as it is used for personal use and consumption. Under this heading the Nissan Nuvu is categorised as a Specialty product as it is an exclusive product that consumers would make a special effort to obtain, it is very unique at the current time and distribution will almost certainly be exclusive.

However in the near future (five to ten years) it is anticipated that there will be a big move to this particular style of car (electric-powered) due to rising oil prices and environmental concerns. In this case the scope of the competition will grow and the Nissan Nuvu will hopefully become a Shopping product that is widely-distributed and also very common and popular.

3.2.1 Product Lifecycle

The Nissan Nuvu is still in the product development stage of the product lifecycle as no actual sales have been made and it is still only a concept as commercial production has not yet commenced.

3.2.2 Branding

Nissan has an established and well reputed brand name. Many customers value and trust the brand and would be willing to consider the Nissan Nuvu as a new product. The Nissan brand has a number of attributes such as durable and reliable. Nissan claims on its website that it is “renowned for excellent engineering and searing handling and dynamics technology” (Heritage n.d.).

Customers relate benefits to the Nissan brand such as trusting the vehicle to reach the destination without any concerns or problems, not having to buy a new car for an extensive time, having a comfortable and safe way of transport.

Values attached to the Nissan brand include durability, comfortableness and reliability. Nissan’s brand personality would be that it is straight, trustworthy and responsible but also innovative and adaptable.

Nissan has reasonable brand equity through almost full awareness in Australia, high perceived quality and an extent of brand loyalty.

The label or name of the product Nissan Nuvu, meaning “new view” gives the product an innovative appeal and implies that it is addressing the needs of tomorrow and providing a credible solution to this.

3.2.3 Comparing to Competition

At the current time the only real competitors in the market for a low-running cost city car are hybrid models Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid which run on both a petrol motor and an electric motor (Hybrid Cars 2008). Australia is yet to release a commercially available all-electric car (Start your (electric) engines n.d.). Obviously all other cars and means of transport around a city can be considered as competition but it is rational to look closer at products that aim at a similar market segment and offer similar benefits and attributes. The most prominent competitor is the Toyota Prius which has been commercially available in Australia since 2001 (Sustainability Report 2007). In this time over 5000 units have been sold, 1974 of them in 2006 and 195 in January 2007, a 96% increase on sales in January 2006 (Sustainability Report 2007) showing an increased demand for this particular model. The Toyota Prius is starting to appeal to a growing market but there is certainly room for another product in this market.

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The Nissan Nuvu has an advantage over such competitors with the extensive use of organic, natural and recyclable materials but also it is even cheaper to run and more environmentally-friendly than the hybrid cars as it has zero emissions. The Nissan Nuvu is currently very unique as it will be the only all-electric car commercially available in Australia.

It is anticipated that in the near future the prospect of owning such an eco-friendly car will become more plausible for Australian drivers who at the moment car more for performance and looks in a car and not so much in how ...

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