motor

1zippo1 · 03-15-2005, 05:53 PM

Hello everyone,

Basically I'm thinking about doing my end of school paper on car firms and more specific about the strengths of weaknesses of big car concerns like the VAG group and the strengths of weaknesses of individual constructors like TVR.

To give you some more information. I'm currently stuying economics. I allready have a degree in informatics. Next year I have to make a big paper about an economic subject and it will account for 1/4th of my grades. So you can say it's very important! To be honest, there isn't much in economics that really interests me so I though I would choose a topic about the car industry.

IMO the car market is an interesting to study. The trend of car firm take-overs by big manufacturers like GM seems to have dimished and the situation seems to be stabelising. There still are lots of individual car firms out there. And some seem to do quite well. For instance Porsche, but I'm not 100% sure how close they are linked to the VAG group. So these small(er) constructers must have their strengths...

My questions for you guys about the subject are:

1. Which 2 firms (one very big and one individual) would you choose to study.

2. Is it possible to get some exact figures about the firms that I can use for a statistic analysis? I'm not sure about the availability of these figures and if it's possible to get that information from a smaller car firm like Caterham.

3. Any good sources about the subject would be very welcome. Especially clear accounting figures but also other things like for instance about positioning of the car firms in the VAG group or about the different tactics the car company's use in different countries.

My thoughts about question 1 : I think the VAG group is the clearest example to study. They have a range of different car firms which are all positioned differently and allmost cover the whole market. Now I come to think of it, the only big gap they have is one where Porsche would fit in perfectly. Think about it, VAG has no real sportscars except the Bentley's & Lambo's but both are positioned above Porsche...

And about Porsche, I think that would be a good example of an individual car firm because of it's economic strenght. The problem is I'm not sure how thight it's connections are with VAG...

Some clarity about that subject would be welcome too!

I will apperciate any help on the subject!
thx in advance!!

1zippo1 · 03-15-2005, 06:11 PM

Originally Posted by Phobo

sorry about the short reply but Im already a bit tired =)
I would choose VAG as you said because it is really big and you get a lot of informations
for example: http://www.volkswagen-ir.de/English_version.337.0.html - just download their latest buiness report and you have the most important facts!

thx, that's a very good link!!!

topgeartom · 03-15-2005, 06:58 PM

i think defo VAG, you could talk about the generic parts they use across barnds in order to cut costs, for ecamaple the 1.8T engine that can be found in seats, skodas, volkswagens, audis, and other major brands. And contrast that with a makers such as TVR, who use pretty much all their own parts. Then of course you could say how the same 'mould' doesnt apply to all small firms, as companies like noble and morgan regularily 'out-source' parts such as ford engines and switchgear.

Jesus, im getting carried away!

1zippo1 · 03-15-2005, 07:08 PM

Originally Posted by topgeartom

i think defo VAG, you could talk about the generic parts they use across barnds in order to cut costs, for ecamaple the 1.8T engine that can be found in seats, skodas, volkswagens, audis, and other major brands. And contrast that with a makers such as TVR, who use pretty much all their own parts. Then of course you could say how the same 'mould' doesnt apply to all small firms, as companies like noble and morgan regularily 'out-source' parts such as ford engines and switchgear.

Jesus, im getting carried away!

hehe, yeah I've been thinking of that too. But I think that won't be enough to fill 100 pages

and I also have to take care that I use a scientific approach (conclusions based an figures for instance, statistic analysis, ...). I have to be able to proof everything I say with references and stuff.

But thx for the enthousiasm

666fast · 03-15-2005, 07:19 PM

GM would be a good choice, they have so many companies under thier umbrella afterall. Like VAG, they also share parts between cars on a monstrous scale, they've recently had problems with it. The Saab 9-3 Cabrio (I think) shares the same platform as the Pontiac G6. A G6 Cabrio was suppose to come, but Saab engineers had made so many changes, they had to start over.

http://www.autoextremist.com/ I bet if you contacted them, they could be a really big help. If they decided to help anyway.

draak666 · 03-15-2005, 07:27 PM

Hi zippo,

As you said yourself, VAG is probably the best big company to include in your paper. Phobo already gave you the link to their business report. If you like more in depth information you can allways try to contact Dieteren. They're the import agent of the group in Belgium. From my own experience I know that these big companies usually like to help students with these type of projects, so don't hesitate to contact them!

Also, Dieteren is the agent for Porsche in Belgium as well! This could make it easy for you to find information for the small firm case. However, I'm not sure you could consider Porsche as 'small'. Sure, they operate in a niche market, but I wouldn't call them small. They're individual, but successfully diversifying with the Cayenne (and the new Cayman). Would beinteresting to anylise how it affects their business.

If your French isn't too bad, you can contact Gillet. It's a Belgian company. I wouldn't know too many other small companies that are easy to find information on. Usually they're privately owned and therefore don't disclose any financial information.

I have a masters degree in Applied Economics myself. Let me know if I can help you with anything, I'd be more than happy to.

Honestly, I think you're subject is very interesting and you're idea of a merger between VAG and Porsche is fascinating as well. (We'd all like to know the outcome to that.)

I wrote my dissertation paper about bank M&A's three years ago, when they were still popular. Perhaps mergers will become attractive again in the future...

jon_s · 03-15-2005, 07:40 PM

TVR would be a good small company to look at, especially in light of the recent change of ownership and the new more reliable direction the company is taking e.t.c

1zippo1 · 03-15-2005, 07:43 PM

Wow I'm amazed by the fast & good replies. Thx guys!!! You're allready helping me out here. I wasn't very sure if I had chosen a good subject, but I'm getting more confidence in it now!

GM is probably also a good case study and I'll surely consider it but to be honest VAG is easier because a lot of GM is situated in the US market from which I don't know much. It's easier to study VAG for that reason.

Draak666, thx for the information! What I'm doing is "Handelswetenschappen". It's status is equal to TEW and much of the courses are the same. Most of our courses are from the KU Leuven.

I'll surely try to contact Dieteren, they're office is located just 200meter from my uncle. It's try that Porsche isn't small but I think it's easier to study them, then Gillet. Gillet is kinda small so I doubt they really have a clear business strategy. There is much more to say about Porsche. It's no problem that Porsche applies diversification strategies. The main problem is that I'm afraid that their closly linked to VAG and that they're the only car firm in this specific situation (big sales but still indipendant).

Thx again for all your tips!!

redbaron · 03-16-2005, 07:00 PM

I would go for VAG too. It's also very interesting to see the different approach of Piech (Phaeton, Veyron, upgrading VW, etc.) and the approach of Pischetrieder (making VW cheaper, less competition between the VAG-brands, less investments in expensive projects etc.) Have fun with filling up 100 pages

bmwmpower · 03-17-2005, 07:12 AM

Big firm - volkswagen or Kia-hyundai
individual - i dont know, maybe Lotus - very interesting financial history

1zippo1 · 03-18-2005, 12:46 PM

I don't know much about Kia-Hyundai so VAG is probably easier.

But Lotus is a good proposition, I'll look into it!

thx for the tips

crayzayjay · 03-20-2005, 11:00 AM

Send me a PM when you decide which company you want to study. I can give you some very good info

The ones that i think would be good to study are Porsche, BMW, VW, Peugeot and Renault. Actually they're all very interesting but some are more complicated than others....

Kiran · 03-20-2005, 05:57 PM

Originally Posted by crayzayjay

Send me a PM when you decide which company you want to study. I can give you some very good info

The ones that i think would be good to study are Porsche, BMW, VW, Peugeot and Renault. Actually they're all very interesting but some are more complicated than others....

First of all, this is my (1zippo1) second account that I use for a quick look at JW

Thx for your suggestion and I won't forget to PM you when the time comes but I think you misunderstood me a bit.

I'm comparing big car companies consisting of multiple brands to individual companies.

VW is a brand of the VAG group and Peugeot is a brand of the PSA group.

Porsche is indeed a cool brand to study but it's the only one like it, so Lotus is probably better. BMW is nice, but doesn't have that many co-brands (mini and Rolls). Renault works together with Nissan.

The VAG group however consists of (I hope I don't forget one): Skoda, Seat, VW, Audi, Lamborghini.

crayzayjay · 03-20-2005, 06:13 PM

Don't worry, i know that VW is just one brand of the group. I analyse auto comps for a living. Let me know when you've decided

DaimlerChrysler is another very interesting company to look at. Lot of things going on there at the moment too.