Fundamental of Marketing BM101
1.2 Table of Contents
1.2 Table of Contents 1
1.3 Acknowledgement 2
1.4 Summary/Abstract 3
2.0 Brand #1 Mercedes Benz
2.1 Introduction to Mercedes Benz 4-5
2.2 Mercedes Benz History and Development 5-9
2.3 The Macro-environment 10-12
2.4 Organizations within the industry 12-16
2.5 Strengths and weaknesses of Mercedes Benz 17
2.6 References 18
3.0 Brand #2 Toyota
3.1 Introduction to Toyota 19-20
3.2 Toyota History and Development 20-23
3.3 The Macro-environment 24-29
3.4 Organizations within the industry 30-31
3.5 Strengths and weaknesses of Toyota 32
3.6 References 33
4.0 Comparison between brand #1 and brand #2 34-35
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1.3 Acknowledgements
This assignment has been done for our subject Fundamentals of Marketing
(BM101), at UCSI University. At this time we would like to acknowledge the advice and
support of our lecturer Ms. Nazliwati Mohammad. We also acknowledge that some of the
material for this assignment has been derived from other sources, all of which are
included in our respective references. All group members have worked effectively and
cohesively in this project and share equal contribution.
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1.4 Summary/Abstract
In this assignment we will be analysing two different car manufacturers. The
brands we have chosen are Mercedes Benz and Toyota. In this report we will be
presenting the brands’ history and development, the macro environment affecting them,
and their organizations within industry inclusive of the marketing position, target markets
and the marketing mix. At the end of the report a comparison is given between the two
brands.
Mercedes-Benz is one of the world’s oldest automotive brand still in existence
today. Mercedes-Benz has built an outstanding reputation of quality and exclusivity
throughout its product lines. It is a globally recognized company and one of the top ten
most recognizable brands in the world and enjoys a reputation of prestige. The company
markets its products to upper middle class and upper class people in all countries with
remarkable success.
Toyota Motor Corporation, abbreviated TMC, is a Japanese multinational
automaker headquartered in Toyota, Aichi, Japan. It has a great number of employees in
worldwide, and was the largest automobile manufacturer in 2010 by production. Toyota
is the eleventh largest company in the world by revenue. In 2012, the company reported
that it had manufactured its 200 millionth vehicle.
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2.1 Introduction to Mercedes Benz
The German luxury car-manufacturer has been around for more than a century,
having elegantly drifted the both smooth and rough curves of automobile history which is
Mercedes-Benz. Multinational division of the German manufacturer Daimler AG, and
the brand is used for luxury automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is
headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The name Mercedes Benz
needs no introduction for the car enthusiastic people. Ever since its foundation this name
has been associated with the world class brand of cars, trucks and buses. The founding
fathers; Mr. Karl Benz who first founded this company in 1871 and the two others Mr.
Gottlieb Daimler and Mr. Wilhelm May Bach, who founded the division of Mercedes
Benz called as Daimler AG in 1890. Currently this company produces a wide range of
advanced luxury cars, trucks and buses in its manufacturing facilities, based all over the
world besides Germany.
Among the passenger cars that Mercedes-Benz manufactures are the following models:
B-Class—Multi-Activity
C-Class—Saloon, Estate & Coupé
CL-Class—Coupé
CLS-Class—Coupé
E-Class—Saloon, Estate, Coupé & Cabriolet
G-Class—Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV)
GL-Class—Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV)
GLK-Class – Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV)
M-Class—Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV)
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R-Class—Luxury Tourer Vehicle (LTV)
S-Class—Saloon
SL-Class—Roadster
SLK-Class—Roadster
SLS AMG—Coupé
2.2 Mercedes Benz History and Development
Many years ago when mahogany canes and high-top hats were the ultimate
fashion and social prominence statements, two men by the names of Karl Benz and
Gottlieb Daimler were busy freeing the world from horse-powered transportation. The
1886 archetype of the modern engine, their device was not a result of team-work but of
independent and synchronous research and development. Although both lived in Southern
Germany, they never actually met if historical accounts are to be believed.
Despite the equal share of the two engineer’s contribution to the development of
the four-stroke petrol engine, it was Gottlieb Daimler who garnered more attention that
would eventually lead to world-spread fame. Following Daimler’s successful results in
racing, a wealthy Austrian business man by the name of Emil Jellinek became interested
in the Unterturkheim-built cars. Daimler and his chief-engineer, Wilhelm Maybach’s
work had pleased Jellinek to the extent of him approaching the two with a business
proposal: a large number of cars would be ordered in exchange to a name change from
Daimler to Mercedes – Jellinek daughter’s name – and the right to alter the car’s designs
as well as the right to resell the vehicles in some European countries, including Austria,
France and Belgium.
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Well before the WWI outbreak, Gotllieb Daimler had gained a reputation for his
vehicles that was greater than that of Benz. However, the latter would strive to keep up,
managing to stay close to Daimler’s tail. In 1908, both manufacturers shared the podium
with winnings in the French Grand Prix.
After having converted their factories to cater for Army demands during WWI,
the two rivals were brought together by a series of circumstances, dictated by precarious
economic status and impossibility of self-support. Thus, the Daimler’s Motorengesellshaft
merged with Benz & Cie in 1926, morphing into the larger Daimler – Benz AG.
Ever since, Mercedes-Benz cars have been some of the best cars in the world,
standing as symbols of flawless quality and cutting edge engineering. In fact, the men
behind the brand are responsible for the development of countless improvements that
cover every inch of a car’s anatomy.
Despite having been widely criticized for alleged forced employment and
violation of human rights during the Second World War, Mercedes – Benz have been
successful at building an automotive empire, strongly supported by some of the
company’s far-from-average clients, such as state leaders, media moguls and ridiculously
rich families.
Mercedes – Benz have become known particularly for their limousines, most of
which can be seen in most movies ever since the Lumiere brothers became famous for
their ‘little’ invention called cinematography. As if outstanding product quality and world
fame weren’t enough, the Mercedes – Benz team has also fathered tons of innovations,
many of them targeting the simple four-cylinder engine.
28 years after Otto revealed his prototype of a four-stroke gasoline engine,
Wilhelm Maybach perfected his idea and built an engine for Daimler to be used in boats
only. Development of the engine that would eventually propel land, water and air
vehicles fulfilling Daimler’s dream, took some 8 years before being fitted on the Daimler
Phoenix model, the first vehicle in the world to be equipped with such an engine.
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Meanwhile, Karl Benz was busy working on a four-cylinder horizontally-opposed
piston engine as an improvement of his 1897 contra-design. In 1900, saw the release of
the improved contra-engine and completion of Benz’s work at the time. Some of the
advantages the horizontal design had over its in-line counterpart were room and dynamics
related. The opposed horizontal placement and firing order of the pistons meant very few
vibrations, a lower center of gravity as well as more space for fitting other devices like
turbo or superchargers.
The early 1900’s brought forth a second series of engineering innovations with
Maybach’s development of the “hammer” engine-design for Daimler that earned its name
thanks to its dual-camshaft controlled lateral intake and exhaust valves; Daimler also
came up with the Simplex in 1902, a racing car powered by an in-line four cylinder
engine that featured overhead intake valves and rod-driven exhaust valves. To ensure low
working temperatures, the Simplex design also boasted double walled cylinders to
