Abstract
Renault was founded in the early 20th century, and over the years, has a huge historical legacy. From its beginning, through the two World Wars to the present day, the brand has cemented itself in French History. Presently, Renault is involved in a partnership with Samsung and Nissan Motors.
It is often said that the automotive market is growing: that's true with respect to the international market. France is an exception in Europe, in the sense that its automobile market is growing at an average of 7% per month while the Italian and Spanish markets are going down. With less competitors and strong sales registering in developing countries like India and China, the forecasts are optimistic for Renault.
In this analysis, we will focus on the Renault. For three generations, Renault Megane has been in existence of which we can find several versions: sport, saloon, scenic, coupe and so on. The first generation of Megane was commercialized in 1995 and was in production until 2002; the second one was from 2002 to 2008, and the last generation from 2008 onwards. All these new cars have in common the concept of solidity, comfort, easy and pleasant driving, safety, and the new idea of sustainable development, which adds value to the products and which builds its reputation.
There exists a specific marketing strategy plan for this range of Megane and is represented by the 4Ps (product, price, place, promotion). In terms of product, Renault highlights different aspects of the Megane to introduce it as a familiar, professional and modern car. The price varies with version of the Megane. There are different means of payment, and different types of assurance. To sell its products, Renault uses advertising and other marketing strategies and it also participates in shows and rallies to promote its products. At the beginning, Renault based its activities solely in France; however, the group has now expanded across Europe and even beyond the boundaries of the Old Continent.
In terms of quality, the Renault group is looking forward to improving its efficiency in the factories. Renault cars are gaining international recognition as it pays immense attention to quality control (crash tests, for instance). It tries to be more competitive on every end and the group obtained an operating profit margin of 6% in 2009, with its different strategies including cost reducing programs, optimized investments and good relationship with the customers.
Like all companies, Renault is looking forward to positive growth. So, the objective of the strategy plan was to sell more cars in 2009 than in 2005, to launch 26 new models with an entire line of vehicles would would enable it to run on biofuels (keeping in mind the concept of sustainable development). And finally, Renault has always sought to be a state-of-the-art company, to win the market shares.
At present, there are many opinions regarding the situation of the automobile market. While some opine that the car market is declining, others state that it is registering a rise. In fact, the real situation is: The automobile market has been in progression with respect to the world market. In 2008, the turnover was 9,697 million euros with an increase of 4.2% in the market shares compared to 2007.
Tags: Renault global sales, Renault Megane series, automotive industry
