Topic: Yamaha Electric Cars VS Chevy Volt Electric Cars.

Introduction
Electric cars have become increasingly popular in our society as consumers are becoming environmentally conscious and being active participants in reducing the amount of carbon dioxide that is emitted into the planet. The electric car predominantly runs on electric power, which helps in decreasing the dependence and burning of fossil fuels.
The government supports electric vehicles by providing tax deductions and although they are pricey investment considering the average price, the long-term benefits are worth it. There is an increasing demand for electric cars on the market, which presents an opportunity for Yamaha to launch an electric car and compete to capture its market share in the environmentally conscious consumers’ market segment. Yamaha intends to “fully utilize its core competencies that aims to enhance its reputation as a trusted and admired brand based on its customer oriented and quality conscious management culture”. Yamaha core competence helps the company to develop a competitive advantage by focusing on unique features and abilities that are hardly copied by competitors.
Yamaha is highly experienced and has great expertise in the automotive industry which will allow them to position their electric vehicles in the market as a unique and differentiated product from competitors. They will be able to create competitive advantage in the battery power and duration by using cutting edge technology to develop greater battery power and efficiency. As a customer oriented company, Yamaha provides exceptional after-sales support and technical support for its customers as well as, improved performance and vehicle quality. The Chevy Volt gives 38 miles per gallon on electric power after which, it switches to gasoline range extender. The new battery pack upgrade gives at least 40 miles per gallon as of 2015. Volt is recharged on 120-volt power overnight- 10-16 hours. It uses the Lithium Ion battery with 17.1kWh. The way that Yamaha can differentiate with this feature is to partner with a third party expert and obtain a patent for solar panel technology that would be installed in the roof of the car. By doing this, it would allow for solar recharging throughout the day.
In keeping with the ongoing changes in people’s way of life, there is a need for innovation. Innovation refers to the process which ideas are transformed into new offerings, including products, services, processes, and branding concepts that will help firms grow (Grew & Levy, 2015, p. 255 - 256). In the absences of innovation, there will not be changes in consumer’s way of life. More so, the market will be saturated with the same product and service that will leave the corporation with limited options. Example, continue to offer the same products and services to the same customers or take the same product and service to a different location (market) to similar customers. Therefore, because of various overriding and long-term reasons, firms are compelled to introduce new products and services. For this reason, Yamaha Corporation has introduced the hybrid electric automobile

The Need for the Product
The underlining feature of the electric car is its capability to contribute towards saving the planet. More so, the population is becoming more and more conscious of the importance of having clean energy. The electric car will minimize the consequences of burning fossil fuels such as those emitted by regular cars. The manufacturing of the vehicle will bring value to Yamaha Corporation and its consumer. Also, there will be a new taste on the market for Yamaha customers. Moreover, consumers will have that personal gratification to be associated with a product that is contributing to a cleaner and safer environment. Consequently, the new product will provide the opportunity for the company to sustain growth. In the realization of the electric car, Yamaha Motor Corporation would have achieved its passion for adventure, excellence through quality, innovation, and performance, and respect from its customers, partners, and the community. Yamaha production of the electric car will be the missing and long time coming product the corporation is in need of to set itself apart from the Chevrolet Volt electric car.
Who will use the Product?
Yamaha electric car will be marketed to consumers that are environmentally conscious and wants to participate in combating climate change. The specific market target market segment will be working class individuals or families mostly in the upper or lower middle-class income bracket. This market segment is growing rapidly as the general population is becoming aware of climate change, and it's potentially damaging effect on our planet. Yamaha Corporation seeks to penetrate this market segment, capture and expand its market share within this market segment by manufacturing the electric car.
How the Product will be used
Yamaha electric car will be classified as a consumer product. As Grew and Levy (2015) reported in “Marketing,” consumer products are products and services used by people for their personal use. Yamaha electric cars will be mostly used by the above-described consumers to commute to work, school and general purpose. The electric is highly recommended for city commutation instead of long distance trips. Since the electric car is not completely assimilated to our society national, some states may not have the facilities to recharge the car battery. To avoid inconveniences that may arise due the insufficiency or lack of recharging facilities in other cities or states, the company strong discourage customers to driving the electrical cars for long distance interstate or intercity trip.
Element of Cost

The elements of cost comprised of; raw material, labor, logistics, advertisement, and overhead. The raw materials will encompass aluminum frame, wheels, seat frames and steering wheel, battery, motor made of metal and plastic parts, electronics for control panel, computer system that controls doors, and windows tire pressure monitoring, air conditioning, starting the car, CD player, and other facilities. Plastics, foam padding, vinyl, and fabrics from the dashboard cover, door liners, seats and the solar glass windshield.

• Cost of labor - 4,200
• Logistics - 1,800
• Overhead - 2,500
• Advertisement - 1,200
• Raw material – 14,000
In total elements of cost would be 23,700
Retail Pricing
Volt qualifies for tax incentives to attract buyers and there is a federal tax credit of $7,500 for first-time buyers. The Volt price starts at $35,000 meaning that plug-ins that are pricier than gasoline cars of same capacity and size. Through economies of scale, the reduction in the price of assembling these vehicles could be achieved, and the pricing could be set at $26,000-$28,000 before tax reduction. The production could be done in the same facilities where they produce their vehicles while investment in labor that will be installing the battery and related components would be required. After-sales and technical support with improved performance. Improved performance was explained earlier, that on this hydrogen-powered battery the vehicles could use the battery for double the mileage without recharging, and technical support of Yamaha would be available through the installed screen in the car for convenience of the user. Yamaha will offer warranty for ten years with upgrade possibilities in comparison to the eight years offered by Chevrolet. In the cases of malfunction the warranty offered covers the road assistance costs and if the car needs to be in repair for longer than a day, it will provide the more by a replacement vehicle for the duration of repairing. Thus, their customer orientation will ensure their customers in quality and exceptional service. Also, this will mean that customer retention will provide a greater benefit to Yamaha allowing them to increase their sales and increase market share. The sales and distribution of these vehicles will be done through existing partnerships with dealerships worldwide, which already have demonstrated Yamaha’s strengths and exceptional quality.
Competitive advantage
With the growing number of consumers increasingly becoming environmentally conscious, there is a great opportunity to market and sale Yamaha electric car to this market segment. To be competitive in this market, it is imperative for our company to position its product in a way that will differentiate our product from other competing electric cars such as Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf. The differentiation will exhibit the core product and service features that will add value to our product brand that will allow our company to outperform competitors in capturing, expanding and maintaining a greater market share. Some of the product and service features that will give us competitive advantage include battery composition, affordable price, outstanding safety features and excellent product maintenance and warranty. This competitive advantage is discussed in detail as follows:

Battery Composition
Chevy Volt lithium-ion battery stores 16kwh energy with the capacity to run the vehicle for a range of 53mi with all electric power and a combined city/highway fuel economy in all-electric mode to 106 miles per gallon gasoline. Yamaha electric car, on the other hand, will be built to improve on this base battery technology. With a collaboration with a third party company that specializes in developing and building the lithium-ion battery, Yamaha will seek to build a battery with cutting edge technology. The electric car will store up to 19kwh energy with the capacity to run its electric powered vehicle for a range of 57mi with all electric and a combined city/highway fuel economy in all-electric mode to 118 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent. This new battery improvement will increase both the performance and efficiency of Yamaha electric car.
Affordable Price
Currently, the Chevy Volt MSRP $41,000.00 excluding the federal government tax credit of up to $7,500.00. Virtually all the product parts for the vehicle are going to be manufactured in a third world country. Mainly because of low taxes and extremely cheap labor. As a result, Yamaha can afford to sell its electric for cheaper at $33,000.00 excluding the government tax credit. After the tax credit, consumers will get the Yamaha electric car for $25,500.00. Since our target market is mostly upper and middle-class individuals or families, the price for Yamaha electric car will be very affordable when compared to Chevy Volt. The main task for Yamaha here in the United States will be to assemble the vehicle after all the parts have been shipped. This strategic decision will reduce the high cost of labor here in the United States whereby increasing Yamaha’s bottom line.
Safety Features
Yamaha electric car will be fully equipped with safety accessories including anti-collision warning and automatic brake, airbags for the driver and both the rear and front passengers’ as well pedestrian alert system. The pedestrian alert system has sensors that will sense a pedestrian within close proximity and kick in the engine sound to alert the pedestrian about the approaching vehicle. Also, the vehicle will have a build-in emergency or roadside assistance system such as on-star assistance in GM vehicles that will be of great help in the case of an emergency. The vehicle will also have GPS tracking system that can be enabled or disabled by the driver.
Vehicle Maintenance and Warranty.
Yamaha electric vehicle will have a top of the line warranty that surpasses that offered for Chevy Volt. Whereas Chevy Volt battery and warranty coverage last for eight years or 100,000 miles, Yamaha electric vehicle will expand its warranty for up to 10 years bumper to bumper. The warranty will also offer a free roadside assistance and free car rental in the case of mechanical malfunction that was covered under the warranty for an additional fee of $500.00 for eight years. This warranty will give consumer confidence and peace of mind in the vehicle the purchased knowing that any mechanical defect and malfunction is covered under the warranty.
The competitive advantage discussed above will help Yamaha generate greater sales margin as well as retain more customers than its competition. With these competitive advantages, Yamaha will penetrate the market segment that is currently dominated by Chevy Volt, capture and expand its market share in the targeted market
Distribution and Sales
After carefully evaluating the cost and benefits analysis for the Yamaha electric vehicle distribution, Yamaha will contract with a third-party logistics company to distribute its products to the dealership. By contracting with a third party logistics company for distribution of its product across the country, Yamaha will realize a great amount of savings. Those savings will help keep the price of the electric vehicle down and affordable to the target market.

References
Grewal, D. & Levy, M. (2015). Marketing 4th.ed. New York. McGraw-hill Education

Fashion Angels Chox'd Chalkboard sunglasses. (2015). Retrieved from

About Yamaha. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2015, from http://www.yamaha.com/about_yamaha/ir
/publications/pdf-data/2010/ann/an-2010e-004.pdf
Electric Car Demand Growing, Global Market Hits 740,000 Units. (2015, March 28). Retrieved September 20, 2015, from http://cleantechnica.com/2015/03/28/ev-demand-growing-global-market-hits-740000-units/
Fueling the cars of the future. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2015, from http://blog.intelligent-energy.com/blog/2015/09/fuelling-the-cars-of-the-future/
Powering Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2015, from
http://www.intelligent-energy.com