Strategic Management (H) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategic Management (H) - Essay Example A market analysis of various players in the industry has also been carried out. The global automobile industry is one of the leading industries in the world today. This industry has its roots in Europe and the USA where it started in the late second half of the 19th century. It started expanding to the rest of the world in the early 20th century. The global automobile car manufacturing industry deals with the assembly of passenger cars, Sports Utility Vehicles, vans and some light duty motor vehicles (Sturgeon, Biesebroeck and Gereffi, 2008). The world-wide car manufacturing industry is run mostly by large multi-national corporations that also engage in the production of other types of automobiles and automotive parts. The industry market has an oligopolistic structure, which is controlled by the big market players in the industry. The best investment in this industry can be done in an untapped market since getting into established markets is quit hard (PWC, 2009). At present, the critical success factors include: quality, image, cost control, meeting energy standards. A lot of attention is being paid to the quality of the different brands of cars being manufactured for specific markets. Competition arising from a high level of mergers in the industry is pushing manufacturers to enhance their image through production of quality cars. Cost control is also a major critical success factor as manufacturers look for ways to counter financial constraints caused by the global economic crisis. Many of these companies have developed cost-effective production of high quality cars. The high cost of fuel and other environmental factors have also led to manufacturers producing cars that meet the highest standards as pertaining to energy consumption (Ralf, 2001). The future critical success factors are likely to be pegged on the manufacturers’ image through brand management. Aspects of image such as design, service strategies, brand experience as well