SEMA 2011

SEMA (the Specialty Equipment Market Association) held its annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas from November 1st through 4th this year. (1)

In recent posts, we've talked about entrepreneurship in the auto industry and some of the difficulties faced by entrepreneurs trying to enter the market. Effective marketing can be a difficult task for an entrepreneur in any industry, but especially one dominated by several well known brands. One traditional method to spread the word about a new product or business is to buy space at a trade show. SEMA Show is an annual show that features small specialty car makers, parts makers, custom tuning shops, and other companies focussed on highly specialized cars rather than equipment for the mass market. Unlike most auto industry trade shows which focus on major corporations, small companies and individuals present their products with GM or Toyota. (2)


Phoenix-based Local Motors has created buzz at SEMA events since the 2008 show. (3) Local Motors is company with a unique product called the Rally Fighter that fits a very specific need: A purpose built vehicle for the Baja 1000 race and similar events. (4) It also has a very unique value proposition: The vehicle is designed and built by a method called crowd-sourcing, which means potential customers from around the world contributed which components should be used and selected a design from several entries during a design contest. The company also sells their build experience: included in the price of the vehicle, the owner builds the vehicle and learns how to drive it (5).


While major companies tend to make major announcements at more mainstream shows like the upcoming Tokyo Auto Show, small companies like Local Motors are able to connect directly to those interested in their product by going to targeted shows like SEMA.


(1) http://www.autoblog.com/sema/
(2) http://www.autoblog.com/2011/11/02/chevrolet-camaro-concepts-storm-the-general-motors-booth/
(3) http://blog.local-motors.com/2008/11/reflections-on-sema.html
(4) http://jalopnik.com/5398864/local-motors-rally-fighter-the-first+ever-creative-commons-car
(5) http://www.rallyfighter.com/buy-a-rally-fighter
(image) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaX6PCoRWtsV_-sbvVSoBHDE4q6ObJ7eVU9kEFXZihnMoFKy9Tx3WZ9ma2NoTDNpGKGksSitOjS-rWQASVFXrvMDRqS6C4sHmGdL8L_7GcfpkPJ_PgFXKA9j9bhmSFo9LQqk4BOuB8-5yN/s1600/1841.parker.race.still.jpg

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Hyundai CEO Yang Seung-suk Retires

Yang Seung-suk has retired from his position as CEO of Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. Mr. Yang held this position for only three years, but in these years led Hyundai to among the top of its market despite the economic downturn. Hyundai became the 5th largest automaker by units sold. Despite his success, Yang's departure is not unusual: Hyundai generally changes its C-suite every two or three years.


What is unusual about this story is that this is 2nd major executive to leave in the past year. In March, Head of Research and Design Lee Hyun-Soon retired. A major part of Hyundai's success during the recession was manufacturing vehicles whose reliability rivaled those of Honda at significantly lower prices. Hyundai also pushed into the growing Chinese market under Yang. Hyundai's challenges in coming years will be to continue that growth without these 2 key executives.


Articles Mentioned:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204138204576602682341427992.html?mod=WSJ_auto_LeadStoryCollection
(Image) http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupes/1004_2011_mustang_v6_vs_2010_genesis_coupe_3_8_vs_2010_camaro_rs_vs_2010_challenger_se/photo_71.html#photo 

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Ford Expecting Significant Growth in Asia Pacific, Africa

Ford's Figo model for India

Ford Motor Company is expecting significant growth in the Asia Pacific and Africa markets in the next decade, from one sixth of their total sales currently to one third by 2020 (1). Its Asia Pacific and Africa region includes emerging markets such as China and India, as well as Australia, South Africa, and Thailand. Many automakers, Ford included, have shifted their focus from the domestic market to these emerging markets since the recent economic downturn.


Ford's strategy for capitalizing on this emerging market includes designing and marketing more products for this region. The popularity cars with diesel engines, historically unpopular in the US, is growing more rapidly in India than in any other market (2). Ford will invest $72 million in a South India plant; the entire investment will go towards production of diesel engines for its Figo hatchback.


(1) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904106704576582193344608536.html?mod=WSJ_auto_IndustryCollection
(2) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703632304575451720343127244.html
(Image) http://www.autotribute.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Ford-Figo.jpg

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