Brand Extension Strategy

Introduction

The brand that this paper seeks to develop is tesla luxury cars. This brand is mainly found in the United States. However, over the years, it has expanded to some  European markets, including the United Kingdom and some parts of Asian markets such as Asia.  The African markets, however, have not been able to receive this car.  The importance of this car is that despite being a luxurious car that depicts class and affluence, it is also one of the few electric car brands that exist in the market. At this time, there is an increased effort for the conservation of the environment, and the adopt measures to reduce the climate change that is occurring at a rapid rate. This car would be efficient for the world since it does not use fossil fuel. Its emission of pollutants into the environment is, therefore, significantly minimal. Also, the car has the advantage of being considerably cheap in maintenance. This is as the price of the electricity used to power it is efficiently minimal in comparison to the amount of the fossil fuel that could be used to power a car of its equivalent.  This focusses on the entry of the tesla luxury car brand into Africa, specifically the South Africa market, through the provision of an efficient brand analysis and a market proposition for the brand.

Brand analysis

The Tesla Luxury car that that that this paper chooses as the first one to be introduced to the south African Market is the Tesla Model 3. This electric car model is defined as an all-wheel-drive electric car that can provide exemplary performance. On a single charge to full capacity, the vehicle can drive for up to 523 kilometers before its power runs out. Its charging system is also efficient in 30 minutes. It can charge up to 50% of its battery.  This model comes with the Tesla package of some of the most advanced and automated technology globally.  Among these unique aspects of the Tesla, models include the Tesla Autopilot mode that utilizes twelve ultrasonic sensors for the calculation of the possible risks and the patterns of cars around the vehicle. This luxurious yet necessary feature offers the driver the ability to experiencing a driverless autonomy.  The interior of the car entails a 15-inch touchscreen display where the drivers can control all the functions in the car other than the steering wheel. Among the different features found in the car, including a dog-friendly mode. This is a feature that works to lock the vehicle and controls the climate inside the vehicle. It makes sure that the dogs inside the vehicle are kept safe and comfortable if the owners have to get out of the vehicle to undertake various errands.  Currently, the Tesla Model 3 and all other Tesla models are present mainly in the United States market. However, they have spread to include other markets such as Europe and China in Asia. The cars have managed to do efficiently well in the markets in which they are present, especially the United States market. This is mainly by the fact that that they are viewed as having incorporated the best features of the top models, thus making it luxurious and efficient. Another feature that makes the car widely liked in the markets is as it is environmentally friendly, and it presents minimal environmental hazards. Concerning the brand equity of Tesla cars, the brand is currently marked as the third most preferred car in the united states. The brand value increased by 60% in the year 2018. The factor of its price mainly presents the weaknesses of Tesla cars. In essence, the vehicle is among one of the most highly-priced vehicles in the United States market and the other markets in which it is sold. The aspect of its pricing, therefore, makes it not affordable by most of the middle-class population and the middle-income individuals. Because of its pricing, a large percentage of the possible potential buyers seem to opt for other brands. These alternative brands have featured almost similar to the Tesla luxurious cars, and that is, however, better affordable within their range of purchasing power.  The introduction of this car to South Africa, therefore, could be a challenge. This is as a reasonable percentage of the South African population may not be able to afford the Tesla Brand cars due to their prices and the economic conditions in South Africa. Another weakness of the Tesla Brand is the fact that it is electrically powered. While this aspect presents one of its significant advantages as it is more environmentally friendly, it also offers a significant disadvantage. This is especially with regards to the exploration of new markets. Currently, almost all the countries internationally majorly rely on fossil fuels such as petroleum and diesel to fuel their vehicles and automotive. Despite the increased attempt abroad to move from the use of fossil fuel towards the use of clean energy, most of the countries in the international system have not yet managed to adopt the use of fossil of green energy efficiently. Even in the countries where the use of green energy has been approved, the amount of green energy explored is still not sufficient to fuel locomotives and machines. These places, therefore, use green energy in other sectors, while the powering of heavy machinery, on the other hand, still depends on fossil fuel. South Africa, for instance, is among the countries that solely rely on fossil fuel to power its auto motives. The introduction of the electric car band in South Africa would be an excellent course of ensuring that the environment is kept clean. Also, it would facilitate the introduction of a luxurious model. However, it may come at an expensive cost. This is as in the case that the cars have to be operational in South Africa. The country has to put up with the coss of establishing charging points in the gas stations where the vehicles can recharge. By the fact that this is a new venture that has not existed in the country before, the cost of putting up the charging points may be significantly expensive and interferes with the budget of the country. Also, the ability to maintain these charging points may present an additional challenge to the economy of the country.

Market proposition and strategy

South Africa presents an efficient market for the extension of the Tesla Luxury cars brand.  This is through the brand entering and flourishing in the South African market. It can thrive in the rest of the entire Africa as a market. With the presence of the Tesla luxury car already in Europe and China, it has an easier chance and added the advantage of being able to spread to the entire Europe and the rest of Asia. This is in addition to the fact that it is already well-received in the American market. The introduction of the tesla market to an African market is therefore necessary for facilitating the growth of the Tesla Car brand into a new market. The introduction of the brand to the African market, while efficient in helping to grow the brand of the car, is also essential in helping the African continent to deal with the menace of environmental pollution and climate change. Its introduction to the African market improves the brand image of the Tesla luxury car since it then stands out as the first electronic car to be introduced to the African market. Being the first electric car in the African market, there is the fact that the car gains the advantage of not having to deal with competition. This is as there would be no similar cars in the market for it to compete with. The brand, therefore, can increase its market share and be able to maintain a large market share even in the case that other competing brands come up in the market. With regards to the car being an electronic car, it would be able to benefit the African continent is a great way. This is regards to issues concerning dealing with environmental pollution and climate change. The African continent is caught up in the same space as the rest of the international countries in the fighting of environmental pollution and dealing with climate change. The use of the tesla Luxury car model is significantly necessary by the fact that it does not use fossil fuels. This, therefore, means that the car does not pollute the environment through the burning of fossil fuels. Ultimately, the outcome is that if it is used is widely adapted, then the issue of climate change will have in a significate way been dealt with.

With regards to the product positioning, among the aspects of product positioning for the market strategy include the aspect of innovation. In this case, the brand presents itself as a result of high technological innovation that is made to precision. In essence, the features of the car incorporate some of the features of the cars currently considered as the best brands. This gives the tesla luxury cars car leverage in the market. The customers are advantaged since they can utilize the features that otherwise have been incorporated in a single car. Further, the car comes with its other special features. These include the automatic self-drive feature and the fact that its soft wares can upgrade themselves periodically to the latest versions. With these special features that the car has, it presents itself as an efficient and highly improved car. The other innovative aspect that the Tesla luxurious car presents the fact that it is an electronic car. The car brands that have, for the longest time, dominated the South African markets for the longest time use fossil fuels. Having an electric car presents an exemplary technological innovation that could further work as a blueprint for future innovation.  The other aspect that the brand will use to market the car is the aspect of brand positioning. Among the notable factors about the Tesla Luxurious car brands is the aspect of their pricing.  Since the cars are significantly higher priced in comparison to its competitors in the market, there is the need to position the brand and present it as a prestigious brand in the market. This way, it will be able to attract buyers who can afford it. The product positioning of the brand as a luxurious brand could be through product differentiation in a way that makes the brand mainly target the rich and the affluent population. This could be through highlighting the special features that the car has in comparing to other cars. For instance, there is the need to highlight the special features that the brand has, such as the automatic self-drive feature and the ability of the software systems to update itself periodically. Also, there is a need to focus on aspects such as the ability of the car to withstand hard conditions to make it more attractive despite its high pricing.

Deliverables and assessment

The evaluation of the success of the failure of the strategy will follow the launch of the product into the market.  In this case, the main ways through which the effectiveness of the strategy would be measured include the determination of the nature of the feedback that the south African users of the product will be able to post on the social media account. Also, there would be a determination of the percentage of potential buyers. Thus the target customers will be able to be attracted to buy the car brands.  The company expects to get its feedback through Facebook and Twitter social media platforms, as these are the platforms that are majorly frequented by a large number of users.  The platforms will take an interactive approach to give the customers the ability to be able to interact efficiently with the car company and have their concerns addressed.  The use of the feedback as a way of determining the success or the failure of the strategy will be through the determination of the type of feedback that the customers have. In the case that the feedback is positive, the strategy will be considered a success. A mixture of positive and negative feedback will be considered as a moderate performance, while negative feedback will be considered as a failure of the strategy. The other way of measuring the success of the strategy will through the determination of the way the product will penetrate the new market.  In determining the level of the penetration of the product into the new market, the factor that will be used entails the percentage of the potential buyers who will be able to buy the product. This will be through assessing those who bought relying on the information provided by the created strategy. In this case, the company intends to take a static of the number of potential buyers that form its target market. Consequently, it will be able to evaluate the number of the target market, which goes ahead to purchase the brands. In the case that the average percentage of this statistic is above 70%, the company will consider the strategy a success. In the case that the buyers of the car are between 40% and 60%, the performance of the strategy will be considered as fairly good. if the percentage of the potential buyers who buy the car is below 40%, the performance of the strategy will be considered as having failed.

Conclusion

The strategy seeks to expand the market of the Tesla Luxury car through the introduction of the car to the South African market. This follows the fact that the American brand that is performing exemplarily in the United States has already been introduced to the European market and in the Asia market through China. The introduction of the Tesla luxury car into South Africa is viewed as an important move towards the exploration of the African market. This is as once the brand is in South Africa. It will easily move to cover the rest of Africa. Factors that the strategy focuses on as essential in the car, thus giving it the ability to perform well in the South African market once launched, is the fact that it is made of top-notch mechanism, including a self-drive feature, and the ability of the software to update itself. Also, the car is among the very first brand in the world that are electrically powered. Its introduction into the South African market would mean that it is the first one of its kind in the whole of Africa. This factor is significantly essential as the car emits minimal pollutants into the environment, a factor that is necessary for the process of dealing with climate change and attempting to fight climate change. The strategy, however, also identifies the negative aspects of the car brand. These include that it is significantly expensive and that setting up of the charging stations will be expensive. In the case that the strategy is adopted by the company, and it launches into the South African market, it will bring the benefit of increasing the market share of the company. Also, it will establish the brand in the country, and at large, the African market. This move means that in the case that a competitor brand with similar characteristics also gets into the African market in the future, the Tesla Luxurious Car brand will be stronger. The similarity is as it would have the advantage of establishing first.