Volkswagen

Paper Summary:

This paper examines Volkswagen (VW), one of the premiere automobile manufacturers in the world. The competitive advantages that VW has in America and its reputation for making luxury cars at mainstream prices is discussed as well as the major disadvantages of VW and its major competitors. The paper also discusses strategic changes, marketing schemes and the financial standing of the company.

From the Paper:

"The company's major distribution channels lie in Europe and North America, with a significant base in Asia (though currently, it is decreasing due to foreign competitors). Like most global automobile entities, VW has a goal to become the major world supplier of vehicles. Volkswagen also shares a close relationship with Porsche, whose first model shared many of the same components of the Volkswagen beetle. Similarly, the Porsche Cayenne (2002) and Touareg share many of the same parts and was built in the same VW factory. In 2007, Porsche took a 30% stake in the company, suggesting the company's intent to takeover Volkswagen."
"The company also distributes a significant number of vehicles to South Africa and South America. However, Volkswagen remains the top seller in Europe. Major competitors like Toyota and Honda are also distributed internationally. Recently, Europeans have found a growing predilection for these Asian cars, as Americans have. Toyota's revenues in the European market have been increasingly steady."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Beaver, William. "Volkswagen's American Assembly Plant: Fahrvergnugen Was Not Enough - International Marketing." Find Articles. 1992. Business Horizons. 13 Nov. 2007
• <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1038/is_n6_v35/ai_13246858/pg_8>.
• "Fortune Global 500." CNN Money. 2007. 13 Nov. 2007 <http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2007/snapshots/6729.html>.
• Londre, Larry S. "Corporate Strategic Planning." Londre Marketing. 13 Nov. 2007 <http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:FHMJ-98QsE4J:www.londremarketing.com/documents/>.
• "Volkswagen AG." Reuters. 2007. 13 Nov. 2007 <http://stocks.us.reuters.com/stocks/financialHighlights.asp?WTmodLOC=C2-FindOut-3-FinancialHighlights>.

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