Preview

What Are the Key Differences Between These Two Accounts of Honda’s Entry Into the Us Motorcycle Market?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
856 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Are the Key Differences Between These Two Accounts of Honda’s Entry Into the Us Motorcycle Market?
The Honda Effect
What are the key differences between these two accounts of Honda’s entry into the US motorcycle market?
The two accounts of how Honda entered into the US market are very different, The Boston Consulting groups (BCG) report clearly shows a deliberate approach to Hondas strategy in penetrating the US motor cycle market. The report documented by Richard Pascale “an insider’s account of Honda’s entry into the US market” shows a clearly defined emergent strategy. The following study is to better understand the Key differences between these two accounts of Honda’s entry into the US motorcycle market.

The BCG report was requested by the British government to investigate why the UK motorcycle industry in the USA had declined since 1960. The report identified two main factors that led to the UK motorcycle industry dissolving in the US.
1. Market share loss.
2. Poor Manufacturing, technological and distribution techniques.
The BCG report states that Hondas success in the US market was because of a clearly defined deliberate strategy. Hondas great success in its home country (Japan) had given Honda a highly competitive cost position to peruse other international markets. The increasing demand of Honda products in Japan led Honda to decrease the cost of out-put while increasing the level of out-put, Honda used this competitive advantage it penetrate the US market and gain a relatively high market share. (Minzburg, H. & Quinn, J. 1991)

Honda identified its market Deliberate or accidental
The BCG report states that Honda entered the US and identified small bikes as their target market, this account is different according to Mr Pascale who stated the following “We still hesitated to push the 50cc bikes out of fear they might harm our image in a heavily macho market” this shows that Hondas intention was not to sell smaller bikes but rather to go with the rest of the industry by selling he bigger bikes. Another reason for selling the smaller bikes was

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Oil prices have recently been rising and will probably continue to rise as the world’s oil sources are depleted. This could mean that there will be a fall in demand for regular fuel cars and a rise in demand for smaller more efficient cars. Honda is producing hybrid technology which will seem more attractive due to higher oil prices. Also, as consumer confidence returns to the US economy, fuel efficient SUV’s are also an alternative to consumers who aren’t comfortable driving smaller cars on America’s highways. As Honda adjusts its production to a more fuel efficient or hybrid/electric technology, they will have the potential to see increased revenue.…

    • 3054 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    New generation riders that exists in Asian markets is more attracted to sleeker, less costly and a more swift motorcycles. Although there is a high potential for Harley Davidson to be profitable in Asian markets they are faced with barriers to trade. Such barriers includes government regulations and trade guidelines which limits foreign manufacturer’s ability to penetrate the market. Additionally one of Harley Davidson’s biggest competitors in the Asian market is Yamaha which is a Japanese motorcycle manufacturer. Due to this Harley Davison is confronted with arduous rivalry. Yamaha targets customers that are at the lower end market and focuses their manufacturing on affordable motorcycles with smaller engines, electronic capabilities and lighter reinforcement in contrast to Harley Davidson’s heavy steel frames.…

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The motorcycle industry is a consolidated industry. The U.S. and international heavyweight motorcycle markets are highly competitive. The major players, such as Yamaha, Suzuki, and Honda, generally have financial and marketing resources that are substantially greater than the non-major players. Competitions in the heavyweight motorcycle market are based on several factors; price, quality, reliability, styling, product features, customer preference, and warranties. Harley’s first segment is motorcycle and related products business which includes designing, manufacturing, and selling heavyweight touring and custom motorcycles products, parts, and accessories. The custom products charge a higher price because of its features, styling, and high resale value.…

    • 7537 Words
    • 31 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ducati

    • 1787 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Before offering solutions to any of the problems mentioned above, we would like to dig into details about the industrial background, company strategic positions, and competitive advantages and disadvantages about the company. These analyses are especially beneficial to help identify potential opportunities and threats of the motorcycle industry and its sport segment. Five forces analysis are supplemented to our analysis.…

    • 1787 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Harley Davidson Strategy

    • 2222 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Harley-Davidson is a company that despite enjoying nearly 15 years of being a leader in the market place and capitalizing on strong sales growth, find themselves reevaluating their overall strategy. The analysis below goes through the each level of the market-place to determine where, what and how change can take place. At the industry level, it is clear that the mature product life cycle necessitates stronger price competition, further expansion into foreign markets and more diversification of their product-lines. Next at the firm-level, Harley-Davidson needs to continue to capitalize on their strengths like brand equity and supplier relationships, focus on their value adding functional-level practices like quality management and finally, begin to see weaknesses such as high-price sensitivity and narrowly defined target markets as an opportunity to creatively tap into unexploited demographics markets such as women and consider challenging their premium price strategy, if even for brief time. To achieve the corporate-level objective of increasing international sales it is vital that continue to explore markets that can economically support premium priced, luxury products, are politically stable and friendly to foreign investment from the United States. Since this is a tall order for many viable countries, Harley Davidson must be willing to challenge their deeply entrenched status-quos. This will mean lifting off-shore shipment limits and letting go of the reluctance to move motorcycle assembly abroad.…

    • 2222 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    However, Harley-Davidson’s journey was not without its bumps in the road. As a result of the rapid rise in production growth – 0 in 1903, 28,000 in 1920, and 150,818 in 1998 – Harley-Davidson experienced quality control issues and faced stiff competition from Japanese manufacturers Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki. In the 1980s, things became so bad that Harley-Davidson found itself on the verge of bankruptcy. Determined to regain its prowess and move away from the verge of bankruptcy, the company “renewed focus on quality” and completed a successful IPO in 1986 leading to a worldwide resurgence (Austin, 2003, p.2).…

    • 3591 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The company focuses on the design, manufacturing, selling and service of heavyweight (engine displacement of 651+cc) performing motorcycles, in addition to touring and custom bikes. Within the last five years the company has also moved into a wide range of motorcycle parts, accessories, clothing and collectibles. What is remarkable about Harley-Davidson is their ability to consistently be the market share leader in heavy motorcycles. As of 2004, based on retail sales of new motorcycles their market share was 49.5% in the US alone. The US is Harley-Davidson’s largest geographical market, accounting for 81.7% of revenues in 2004, followed by Europe (9.5% of revenues), Japan (3.8%), Canada (2.7%), and other countries (2.2%). The US recorded annual growth of 7.6% in 2004. Growth rates in other geographies were as follows: Europe (14%), Japan (11.1%), Canada (1.8%), and other countries (22.7%) according to DataMonitor (2005).…

    • 5980 Words
    • 24 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Currently, Harley Davidson holds 56% of the market share for heavyweight motorcycles, defined as those motorcycles that displace more than 650cc. To some this may be an impenetrable advantage in the market, to other, a source of vulnerability (Taylor III, 2012). For years, Harley has been the undisputed king of the “bad boys”, but in recent years up and coming companies such as Polaris are trying to muscle in to the motorcycle arena. Polaris, a company known for its snow mobiles has only recently begun selling motorcycles 14 years ago (Taylor III, 2012). Polaris has shown that it understands what its…

    • 2717 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ducati Essay

    • 2426 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki all made models that were comparable to each other in terms of pricing, design and technology. Their individual shares of the market across all segments do not vary appreciably from ’96 – ’00. That Honda and Yamaha agreed to share shipping costs in order to save 30% on delivery costs, with Kawasaki and Suzuki soon to ink a similar deal, tells us that these rivals were comfortable with the stasis of their relationships in the market.…

    • 2426 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Harley Davidson was seen in America as a company that produced motorcycles with “raw power.” The company was founded by Arthur and Walter Davidson and William Harley in 1903. In 1918, Harley Davidson had become the largest motorcycle producing company in the world. Their production totaled 28,000 motorcycles. Production continued to increase with the onset of World War II and the military use of Harley’s motorcycles. The mystique of the product had a tough sense to it with famous actors such as James Dean and Marlin Brando sporting the bikes. After World War II, foreign competitors became interested in the motorcycle market. Japanese competitors entered the market in 1959; Harley Davidson executives did nothing to counter the advance of the competition. Harley Davidson’s share of the industry began dropping while Japanese competitors introduced high quality products. The confidence in Harley’s reputation was causing the firm’s market share to decline steadily.…

    • 2737 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Harley Davidson Case Study

    • 1274 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Ong, H. “The competition Between Japanese Manufacturers And The Harley-Davidson Motorcycle.” Whybike.com. Retrieved 6 April 2008 www.whybike.com/motorcycle255.htm…

    • 1274 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Harley Davidson Case Study

    • 2144 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Harley Davidson, a highly distinctive motorcycle company whose success was built on its brand image, may have reached the pinnacle of its growth in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The combined effects of a market focus on a narrowing demographic group, the difficulty experienced in gaining market share in Europe, and short-term forecasting problems led to the concern of the company’s future.…

    • 2144 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The case describes Honda’s move into the US motorcycle market in the 1960's. Honda's strategy was directed towards high volumes per model, providing high productivity, and low costs. Honda succeeded in the US by introducing a new product (small motorcycles, 50cc) that expanded the motorcycle market in the US through price generic competitive strategy. Honda was prepared with capacity, capital and technical capability to enter the US market.…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Recently new challenges have come up: in 1999, Honda has set up a 100% owned subsidiary, which produces scooters, and represents a direct competitive threat.…

    • 7212 Words
    • 29 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Tqm of Honda

    • 1710 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Honda story begins in 1948 when they began by producing an auxiliary engine equipped bicycle. From those humble beginnings Honda has grown to become one of the world’s automotive giants rivalled only by Toyota in terms of global profitability. I visited their local showroom as part of research for this assignment to see if I could discover the secret of their success. A tall order it must be admitted but having already had experience of the management approaches of Ford, Toyota it was the differences in approach that might be interesting.…

    • 1710 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics