Product innovation on the car market

Abstract

The aim of the thesis is to state how product innovation policy, which aims at satisfying customers wants and needs and achieving sustainable competitive advantage, is carried on in today’s world by large car companies. The author states a thesis that process of product innovation in modern organizations has to be sustainable. The most important are progressive sustainable innovations which are satisfying customers’ wants and needs. In the first chapter the author started from defining innovation and showing its growing role in today’s competitive world. Afterwards, he listed all different kinds of innovations, explaining them and giving to each of them an example. Then, he explained the process of product innovation, what it is composed from and how it is carried out in the companies and he focused on a marketing perspective of product innovation. The second defines market and explains its structure relying on Mynarski’s model. Then using this model the author presented the car market, its subjects, objects and relation. Subsequently using secondary resources he presented an overall glance on the global car market, mergers and alliances which are taking place on it, positions of individual corporations, and their results with emphasis on European car market. The author describes three companies that he investigates: BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi. He showed their financial results as well as a precise unit sales structure in the year 2005, proving their innovative approach to business. Afterwards, he did an analysis on product innovations of those three companies, dividing them on safety, comfort and dynamics related innovations.