The purpose of this thesis is to find a proper positioning strategy for China self-owned car brands in the Chinese market. For this purpose, the authors used the theory about brand positioning, target market and segmentation, brand image, differentiation and general positioning process. What’s more, the authors conducted a questionnaire research, studied the Geely acquisition case, and collected information from consumers’ perspectives to understand the current positioning situation of the Chinese automakers. In the methodology part, limitations of the quantitative and qualitative data are discussed, and the authors presented suggestions for further studies. After gathering empirical data, the authors analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of Chinese car, Geely and Volvo, introduced competitor’s performance to make clear the current situation of China self-owned car brands. From the analysis, the present brand image of Chinese car is low-price and bad-quality in the consumers’ mind. The authors tried to figure out a proper brand image for Chinese car to increase the market share in the domestic market. In conclusion, developing safe car of high quality and targeting the middle-class market is the optimal choice for current China self-owned car brands.

Ownership-based consumption mode has been perceived as the normative ideal in how consumer-brand relationships are created. Today, Access-based consumption mode allows consumers to access brands among other consumers without needing to sole- or joint own them. Even though its popularity, there is a limited and quite unclear understanding of how Access-based consumption affects the consumer-brand relationship. The purpose of this study is to investigate to what extent an Access-based consumption mode creates a consumer-brand relationship, compared to an Ownership- based consumption mode in the context of car brands. In order to fulfill our purpose, both a quantitative and qualitative research method was conducted on members of carpools representing Access-based consumption mode, and car owners representing Ownership-based consumption. A theoretical framework Brand Relationship Quality, composed of six dimensions was used to understand the consumer-brand relationship. Our research shows consistently that Access-based consumption creates a weaker relationship between consumers and car brands in all dimensions of BRQ-model compared to Ownership-based consumption. One group of dimensions identified to relate to emotional attachment; Intimacy, Brand-Self Connection and Love/Passion, have relatively higher difference between the two consumption modes. Another group of dimensions related to values of functionality and practicality; Commitment, Brand Partner Quality and Interdependence, have less difference.