This thesis is set in the context of the automotive industry where launches of new products with high levels of technical innovations are becoming increasingly complex for consumers to comprehend. Car manufacturers need to understand consumer perceptions of new models so they can categorise their products form the consumer perspective, to obtain a more accurate indication as to where their products fit within the increasingly defined consumer segments. Situational and personal variables now play the most important roles in marketing. In the area of nested segmentation consumer variables are only concerned with their needs, attitudes, motivations and perceptions and overlook any previous experience, exposure or familiarity that a consumer may or may not have had with the product. It is argued here that consumers have differing perceptions of newness and that asking how new and new to whom would be valid questions for marketers when introducing new products. If car manufacturers can categorise their products in terms of newness for specific consumers based on their levels of Expertise, Involvement and Familiarity with the product, manufacturers will be able to target appropriate markets more effectively. To explore this area a mixed methods research approach was applied. This research found that the level of Involvement with the product, from a motivational aspect, gave rise to different levels of interest and enthusiasm between consumers and has a direct impact on how different types of consumers view new products. In addition the differing levels of consumer knowledge highlights the need to improve targeting of marketing communications so that manufacturers provide a better understanding of complex new products to consumers. Current mass marketing methods based on consumer demographics are no longer sufficient. This research found that a consumer s level of Expertise, Involvement and Familiarity (EIF) with a specific product can be captured using a multi-dimensional scale to measure consumer product knowledge and provide an accurate consumer segmentation tool. By offering different explanations of product innovations to these consumer segments, according to a customer's EIF, marketers will achieve more effective targeting, reduce marketing costs and increase marketing campaign response.

Depuis les premières migrations l'homme a provoqué d'importantes interférences sur l'équilibre environnemental de la planète, souvent irréparables. Avec le développement technologique, surtout depuis la révolution industrielle et plus précisément au XXème siècle, les actions humaines ont gagné une dimension et une intensité à échelle industrielle. Il est alors inévitable d'inter-lier les relations humaines et sociales au développement durable, ainsi qu'au système de production de biens de consommation. L'automobile, l'un des produits les plus présents dans notre quotidien, constitue l'un des principaux vecteurs de la mobilité humaine et du développement industriel de biens de consommation. La mobilité, par le biais des automobiles et des systèmes de transport, a stimulé la formation, l'expansion et la réorganisation des espaces urbains, nous forçant à aller toujours plus loin, plus vite et à consommer toujours plus de ressources naturelles. La voiture efficace écologiquement représente la principale demande de l'industrie automobile de ce siècle. Paradoxalement, en plein XXIème siècle, l'automobile, pleine d'évolutions techniques, stagne dans ses caractéristiques architecturales initiales, datant de la fin du XIXème. Parmi ces archétypes, nous soulignerons dans ce travail trois principaux standards industriels (identifiés au fil de l'histoire de l'automobile), à savoir : le standard de la propulsion (ou standard énergétique) ; le standard de production et le standard de configuration architecturale du produit. En dépit de l'indiscutable évolution technique et dans les relations avec les consommateurs/usagers, l'automobile est pensée pour répondre en priorité à un profil de marché calqué sur les standards cités. Un tel fait contribue à la génération de produits déficients, particulièrement sur le plan socio-environnemental. Orientées par de tels standards, les solutions sont pensées de manière isolée vis-à-vis du contexte de mobilité et des réelles nécessités liées au produit. Quand il est focalisé sur les concepts durables, le résultat du projet favorise les « échanges de valeurs », et ne consiste pas nécessairement en une action de projet qui « ajoute de la valeur ». On note encore que les stratégies corporatives (qui guident les projets) priorisent de plus en plus la phase de développement de produit, quand elles devraient revenir à la phase de conception, et ainsi repenser la fonction principale de l'automobile dans la mobilité individuelle/collective, en associant aux valeurs techniques (tangibles, matérielles et objectives) des valeurs symboliques (immatérielles, intangibles et subjectives). Actuellement l'automobile constitue une formule, une sorte de recette industrielle tournée vers la compétitivité dans la sphère économique (si l'on aborde le concept durable – social, économique et environnemental). Lesdits standards déterminent le profil de la prochaine automobile avant même que ne soit entamé le processus de conception et de développement. Il ne reste à l'équipe du projet qu'à composer, ajuster et à actualiser les « casse-têtes techniques » par le biais de l'adoption des technologies disponibles, des tendances esthétiques et formelles, dans une limite de coûts industriels et visant un profil déterminé de logique du marché et d'usage. Dans le but d' « ajouter de la valeur », les produits dits « verts » doivent se présenter comme étant « normaux » (quant à la technique et aux symbolismes) et, en même temps, ne doivent pas générer de pertes et/ou de déficiences vis-à-vis des consommateurs/usagers quand ils sont analysés selon les actuels standards technologiques. Repenser la stratégie de la mobilité (et ne pas se restreindre uniquement à la voiture) exige l'intégration de tous les acteurs sociaux : l'industrie, le gouvernement et les consommateurs/usagers. Au contraire de ce qu'il est pratiqué communément, les automobiles ne doivent pas être pensées de manière isolée, mais comme une « pièce » d'un système plus grand, c / From the first migration, the human element has caused important interferences in the environmental balance of the planet, some of which are irreparable. Technological development, especially after the Industrial Revolution and more precisely in the 20th Century, has given human action dimension and intensity of industrial scale. It is therefore inevitable that interrelations exist among social human relations, sustainable development and the production of consumer goods. The automobile, one of the most ubiquitous products in everyday life, is one of the main means for human mobility and therefore a vector for the industrial development of consumer goods. Mobility, through the use of automobiles and transportation system, stimulated the establishment, expansion and reorganization of urban spaces, forcing us to go further and faster, consuming increasing amounts of natural resources. An efficient car represents the main demand for the automotive industry for this century. Paradoxically, in the twenty-first century, the automobile, in all its technical evolution, remains engulfed in its initial technical characteristics, as conceived in the late nineteenth century. Within that archetype, three industrial standards are examined for the purposes of the present work (identified along the history of the automobile), namely: the propulsion standard (or energetic standard); the standard of production and that of the architectural configuration of the product. Despite the unquestionable evolution in terms of technical characteristics and of consumer/user relations, the automobile is thought to cater primarily to a market profile based on the patterns mentioned. This fact contributes to the generation of deficient products, particularly as regards the social-environmental plan. In order to comply with such standards, the solutions are conceived in isolation from the context of mobility, and of the real needs attached to the product. When focused on sustainable concepts, the project results favor “value shifts” and do not necessarily constitute a value adding project action. Thus, corporate strategies (which guide the projects) increasingly prioritize the product development phase, when it should actually return to the conception phase, and rethink the main function of the automobile as concerns individual/ collective mobility, associating technical values (tangible, material and objective) to the symbolic ones (immaterial, intangible and subjective). The automobile presently constitutes a formula, much like an industrial recipe that contemplates competitiveness within the economic sphere (when the sustainable concept is approached – social, economic and environmental). The aforementioned standards determine the profile of the next automobile even before the process of conception and development begins. The project teams may compose, adjust and update this “technical puzzle”, by adopting technological solutions available, formal-aesthetic trends, within a limit of industrial cost, and attending to a certain usage and market profile. With the aim of “adding value”, the so called “green” products must present themselves as “ordinary” (in its technical aspects and in its symbolisms) and, at the same time, cannot generate losses and/or deficiencies to the consumers/users when analyzed in light of the present-day technological standards. Rethinking the mobility strategy (and not restricting it solely to the car) requires the integration of all social actors: industry; government and consumers/users. Contrary to common practice, the automobile cannot be thought of in isolation, but as a “part” of a wider system, as both cause and effect, as motive for and motivating of changes which require new conception standards throughout the stages of its lifecycle, and in a global manner.

This master thesis deals with the perception of the brand BMW on the automotive market in the Czech Republic. The aim of the thesis is the assessment of the position of the brand BMW and its perception by Czech consumers. For this purpose the thesis is divided into six chapters. In the first chapter the brand and brand strategies are solved. Second chapter deals with marketing research. Third and fourth chapter both analyze the automotive market in CR. In the fifth chapter the brand BMW and its competitors are more thoroughly characterized. The last chapter is dedicated to the perception of the brand and there are two surveys. One of them was prepared directly for the car producer BMW and the second one was done by the author. On the basis of the results of the surveys the final conclusions are made.

The aim is to analyze the mass-media marketing communications companies in the lead, challengers, followers and nichers on Czech automotive market. The analysis will be based on data for ads on television, radio, print automakers entered the period of 2014 and informations on registration of producers in the same period. Information on the authorization together with the characteristics of each brand will be the starting basis for profiling groups of brands according to Kotler parcial strategy. Communication activities of the groups will be analyzed. Finally, it will be evaluated, whether companies communicate properly with respect to its position. Alternatively, it will be proposed recommendations for changes to this communication.

The topic of this master's thesis is implementation of the Opel Partner programme as new cars sales support of the importer Opel. Introductory theoretical part of this thesis is at first focused on explanation of marketing concepts and tools, that are in praxis very closely related to the Opel Partner programme. Next theoretical part concerns european automotive market and more detailly Czech and Slovak automotive markets with greater focus on Opel brand. Practical part of this thesis is fully concerned to Opel Partner programme. At the beginning, the programme is detailly introduced and the entire proces of it's working is described. In the next parts of practical section, there is detailed sales analysis and analysis of other followed indexes of the programme. After that selected marketing activities realized for sales support are evaluated. Final part of this thesis focuses on own recommendations how to enhance effectiveness of the programme.

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Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T17:35:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo2620_1.pdf: 2101146 bytes, checksum: 9393974b81107b7d181fbe8a43fa8a48 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Azevedo de Lucena Sarmento, Rafaella; Menezes Campello de Souza, Fernando. Decision Theory in the automotive market. 2011. Dissertação (Mestrado). Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia de Produção, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, 2011.

The Diploma Thesis seeks to evaluate key markets of the SKODA Auto company in terms of purchasing and supply possibilities. It analyzes both Skoda's external and internal environments and assesses current conditions in their key foreign supply market. Furthermore, it describes the purchasing process, methods of localization of suppliers, as well as possible methods of evaluation of Skoda's suppliers. The Thesis should provide the reader with an overview of current trends and opportunities in Skoda's supplier market.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T16:45:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Celso Likio Yamaguti.pdf: 2313667 bytes, checksum: 165d81c113d2beddc1c5d1c071f22589 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-05-20 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / ABSTRACT This dissertation aims to analyze the consumer behavior in decision-making process to buy a new car. The theoretical foundation was based on systemic structure of purchasing process, parted in stages, proposed by Engel, Blackwell and Miniard (2000). The analyzed constructs were: need recognition, information search, alternative evaluation, purchase, consumption and post-purchase behavior. The field research has investigated the functioning of those purchasing stages and influences of family in each part of that by means a qualitative approach and makes reference to a research made by Mattar in 1982. The sample was concentrated in 15 buyers of Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic, living in São Paulo city. The obtained results indicated an expressive change in that purchasing process, compared to period in the early 80 s, in regard to transformations on social relationships, and results suggest that car makers and dealers need to evaluate their process to achieve the new consumer. / Esta dissertação teve por objetivo examinar o comportamento do consumidor no processo de decisão de compra de automóveis novos. Para tanto, a fundamentação teórica baseou-se na estruturação sistêmica do processo de compra, dividido por estágios, proposta por Engel, Blackwell e Miniard (2000). Os constructos analisados foram: reconhecimento da necessidade, busca da informação, avaliação das alternativas, compra, consumo e comportamento pós-compra. Na pesquisa de campo, investigou-se, de forma qualitativa, o funcionamento desses estágios de compra e a influência dos membros da família em cada uma dessas etapas, tendo como referência pesquisa realizada por Mattar em 1982. A amostra concentrou-se em 15 compradores dos modelos Toyota Corolla e Honda Civic residentes na cidade de São Paulo. Os resultados obtidos indicam uma significativa mudança nesse processo de compra relativo ao início dos anos 80, em função das transformações nas relações sociais, e sugerem a necessidade de montadoras e concessionárias reavaliarem suas operações para a conquista desse novo consumidor.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:53:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AlbertoBF_DISSERT.pdf: 4192519 bytes, checksum: 6795a029b50a219cfdea5278c95296c9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-06-26 / This paper aims to conduct a study to evaluate and measure the possible impact that the unavailability of spare parts can have on customer satisfaction for car dealerships in the post-sales. A theoretical-conceptual review on the subject of satisfaction and loyalty, on the backdrop of the reality of the automobile market, allowed the construction of a research tool dedicated to collect opinions of car owners, to allow an analysis empirical relationship between the availability of parts, repairs or scheduled service possible, and change or stay on the mark on the occasion of change of vehicle. 236 forms were applied to car owners in the city of Natal / RN. The results obtained in this survey allowed the identification of the unavailability of parts as a significant factor, among others, the motivation for the customer to switch brands. Collaterally, we could also conclude that the dynamics of change in marks, whatever its motivation, is reflected in the perceived positions of the different brands as the market share both in strictly quantitative terms and in terms of relative positioning, with significant changes in the ranking of consumer preferences for different brands available / O presente trabalho tem o objetivo de realizar um estudo que avalie e mensure os poss?veis impactos que a indisponibilidade de pe?as de reposi??o pode causar na satisfa??o dos clientes de concession?rias de autom?veis no per?odo p?s-vendas. Uma revis?o te?rico-conceitual sobre o tema da satisfa??o e da fideliza??o de clientes, sobre o pano de fundo da realidade do mercado automobil?stico, permitiu a constru??o de um instrumento de investiga??o dedicado a colher opini?es de propriet?rios de autom?veis, de modo a permitir uma an?lise emp?rica da rela??o entre indisponibilidade de pe?as, em revis?es programadas ou em repara??es eventuais, e a mudan?a de ou perman?ncia na marca por ocasi?o de troca de ve?culo. Foram aplicados 236 formul?rios a propriet?rios de autom?veis na cidade de Natal/RN. A an?lise dos resultados obtidos em tal pesquisa de opini?o permitiu a identifica??o da indisponibilidade de pe?as como um fator significante, dentre outros, para a motiva??o do cliente em mudar de marca. Colateralmente, foi poss?vel tamb?m concluir que a din?mica de mudan?a de marcas, qualquer que seja sua motiva??o, tem reflexos percept?veis nas posi??es das distintas marcas quanto a fatias de mercado, tanto em termos estritamente quantitativos, quanto em termos de posicionamento relativo, com altera??es significantes no ranking de prefer?ncias do consumidor pelas distintas marcas dispon?veis no mercado