Opportunities for Smart Cars in the Singapore Market

This paper analyzes the opportunities for Smart cars in the Singapore market through market analysis, competitive analysis, segmentation, targeting, and positioning. It discusses the vision and mission of Micro Compact Car, Singapore market analysis, PESTLE analysis, opportunities, transferability, competitive analysis, segmentation, targeting, and positioning.

Running head: GLOBAL MARKETING
Global Marketing

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Overview of Case (Smart Car)...............................................................................................2
Vision of Micro Compact Car............................................................................................2
Mission of Micro Compact Car..........................................................................................2
Singapore Market Analysis....................................................................................................3
PESTLE Analysis...............................................................................................................3
Opportunities......................................................................................................................6
Transferability....................................................................................................................7
Competitive Analysis.............................................................................................................7
Segmentation..........................................................................................................................9
Targeting..............................................................................................................................10
Positioning............................................................................................................................10
Positioning Map...............................................................................................................11
Ansoff Matrix.......................................................................................................................11
Market Penetration...........................................................................................................12
Market Development........................................................................................................12
Product development........................................................................................................12
Diversification..................................................................................................................12
Conclusion................................................................................................................................13
References................................................................................................................................14

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Introduction
Global marketing is the practice adopted by the business to market its services on the global
level by taking commercial benefits of international functioning differences, similarities, and
opportunities to meet the worldwide goals. Global marketing is a study field in wide-ranging
business management to offer valued products, services, and solutions to customers at
domestic as well as international level (Gillespie & Hennessey, 2010). The intent of this
paper is to analyze the opportunities for Smart cars in the Singapore market by performing its
market analysis. The paper is also conducting the competitive analysis, segmentation,
targeting, and positioning of the Smart Cars in order to analyze the expansion strategy and
future growth in the market of Singapore.
Overview of Case (Smart Car)
The MCC smart GmbH was established in 1994 in Switzerland with the joint venture
between Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Mikroelektronik und Uhrenindustrie AG (SMH),
Bienne and Mercedes-Benz AG. The activities of the business were relocated from Bienne to
Renningen in 1999. Besides this, the Micro Compact Car was retitled as Micro Compact Car
smart GmbH. The Micro Compact car is Smart in features like two-seater planned mainly for
tooling through packed streets. A foot narrower in comparison to the new Beetle of
Volkswagen, and Five feet shorter, it is easy to park like a motorcycle.
Vision of Micro Compact Car
The vision of the Smart Car is to offer comfort and safety on the roads with the choice to
select from different versions.

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Mission of Micro Compact Car
The mission of Smart car is to be the leading manufacturer of 2 doors compact car across the
world.
Singapore Market Analysis
Over the decades, Singapore has reflected a high level of economic growth. Presently, the
country is talked as the high-income economy. Its development is majorly driven by different
factors, few of them are private consumption expenditure, national and international demand
and foreign direct investment. The leading sectors of Singapore that are petroleum refining
and pharmaceutical have the potential to entice other nations to invest.
PESTLE Analysis
Political Forces
In Singapore, the political risk is very low. In fact, according to the PERC Consultancy, that
is Political and Economic risk nation enjoys the lowermost political risk in the region,
therefore it is counted in the list of democratic countries. Residents choose representatives
such that they can lead the country. From its independence, the country reserve relative
political stability (Younis & Sharahili, 2008). Today, this political stability has been
converted into peace and a improve standard of living. Besides this, it offers numerous
opportunities to the local as well as international businesses. It will be beneficial for Micro
compact car to enter in this market because the government is encouraging and participating
in the activities to promote the use of environmentally friendly and smart cars. Besides this,
in a few cases, the government of the country will also offer subsidy or rebates to the
manufacturer of the smart cars. Presently, the government is focused on the green stream idea
that encourages new entrepreneurs and existing businesses to manufacturer smart and
environmentally friendly cars that can support in reducing the harmful emission from the
environment.

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Economic
The Singapore economy is generally called a vibrant free-market economy, which is
emerging at a fast rate. The per-capita of the nation is the highest among all the Asian
countries. It possesses a corruption-free environment that majorly supports numerous
businesses, which makes it a competitive nation. Motivated and educated personnel
strengthen it (Siddiqui, 2010). The strong economic position of the country will support
Micro Compact Car, to establish in the market. The customers in Singapore have good
disposable income, which will allow them to purchase their safe and advanced compact car
that will give an unforgettable experience to the customers.
Social Forces
On social terms, Singapore is just like other Eastern nations. It is famous for the resident who
follows traditional values in the family. However, the younger generation is majorly inclined
towards western values and culture. The people of Singapore are working hard and motivated
towards meeting their materialism desires (Apsalone & Šumilo, 2015). The motivation to
perform well has supported increasing the productivity of the country. This highlights, that
the customer has a high power of purchasing in this region, which can offer high
opportunities to the developing businesses. The people of Singapore have good command
over the Chinese and English languages, which is an advantage to the country as it allows the
maximum level of foreign direct investment. The high purchasing power of the Singaporean
reflects opportunities for the Micro Compact Cars manufacturers. Besides this, the motivation
of the people to work hard and effectively will offer the opportunity to the company to gain a
skilled and educated workforce that could take business at high success level.
Technological
It has been believed that Technology advancement is the key reason behind the change in life
quality and lifestyle. The internet performs a key part in the advancement of Singapore. It has

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simplified the communication among people and increases connectivity. This reduces the
time consumed and time in operating the business. Besides this, it has improved social
networking. The Singaporeans can easily connect with the rest of the world with just a single
click. The country’s Information Technology infrastructure is praise-worthy (Woo, 2018).
The rate of penetration for household broadband internet is around 70%. E-B2C and E-
commerce Models are being developed and updated with time. This data reflects that the
extensive infrastructure of Information Technology will motivate the manufacturer of Micro
compact Car to set up their operations in the Singapore market. The company will execute its
supply chain with the help of advanced technology as it eliminates communication barriers
between the supplier and business. Besides this, the step of the government towards the
electronic era by organizing different Smart and technology-intensive campaigns also
encourages different businesses to make use of advanced technology.
Legal Forces
The government believes that the development of e-commerce is based on favorable and
transparent regulations as well as legislation. Few of the legal business settings were required
in Singapore to support the economic and industrial development, therefore, the government
introduced E-commerce program in 1996. The motive of the program was to increase e-
commerce services. Besides this, the government is also involved in establishing different e-
commerce laws and policies.
Environmental Forces
The Environment and Anti-Pollution Unit work persistently to maintain the quality of the air
and other factors of the environment. Transportation pollution is the main issue in the urban
area of Singapore. The Water Pollution Control and Drainage Act support in managing the
quality of the water because Singapore deals with high water scarcity (National Environment
Agency, 2019). The fuel consumption of the Micro Compact Car is very low at approx. 48

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mpg around town, 67 mpg out of town, which makes it an average of 56 mpg. Acceleration is
soothingly receptive with the maximum speed governed to 84 mph. At all the stages, the
Smart is manufactured as an eco-friendly car and it is closely 100% recyclable.
Opportunities
The Singapore market offers high market opportunities for Micro compact Cars due to their
increasing trend and demand. It is reasonable to invest in smart car technology because it is a
development of the automobile sector in the direction of smarter, connected, safer, and less
polluting vehicles, that customers are demanding. The increasing demand of the customers is
having a major influence on the components used in the car. These components are today
becoming complex, integrated, and lighter.
Smart Cars are making a high presence in numerous of the developing markets due to their
environmentally friendly features and advanced technological components to build into the
vehicle. Micro Compact Cars are environmentally friendly and 100% recyclable, which
attracts a different country's government who are worried about the increasing population due
to transportation. The government of Singapore is focusing on different initiatives to reduce
the population and encouraging participation of the manufacturers in environmentally
friendly and smart cars (National Environment Agency, 2019). Therefore, it is an opportunity
for the Micro Compact Car manufacturers to invest in the Singapore market in order to get
the support of the government and cover the market share.
The motivation of the people of Singapore to perform well has supported increasing the
productivity of the country. This highlights, that the motivation to work harder support
people to have good power of purchasing, which is an opportunity for the company
(Apsalone & Šumilo, 2015). Besides this, the company can attain its goals to be the leading

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manufacturer of Micro Compact Cars by employing skilled and hardworking Singaporeans,
who believe in high productivity and success.
Transferability
Singapore has praise-worthy information technology infrastructure, which smoothens the
communication for the business with its subsidiaries, and other business units present
worldwide. The transferability for the Micro Compact Car will be effective with the help of
advanced IT infrastructure. The company will be able to manage its supply chain and
transportation of the cars successfully. The Company will try to establish its manufacturing
plant near Singapore in order to reduce the barriers in the transportation of the vehicles from
the manufacturing site to the retailing hub. Besides this, the owners of the company will try to
maintain goods relationships with all the key suppliers of the business such that they can get
benefits like discounts and high-quality material.
Competitive Analysis
The Micro Compact Car is the smallest car across the world, which is reliable and
environment-friendly. The car is so small that the user can easily park it anywhere. This car
can be used for daily work as it provides all type of comfort, besides this, it is fuel efficient
and will contribute towards reducing the pollution from the environment. This car is a
combination of unique trendy design and advanced features. The company offers customer
choice to get customizes their car. The key competitors of the Smart car in the Singapore
market are Volkswagen New Beetle, Honda Civic, Acura RSX, Chevrolet Cavalier, Ford
Focus, Mitsubishi Eclipse, and Toyota Celica (Insights, 2018). The unique features with two-
seat facility make Smart car a better and exclusive option for the customers. On the other
side, the competitors offer a four-seater car at high prices. Besides this, these cars are not
environmental friendly that pollutes the environment.

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Smart Car Competitors
The company adopts environmentally
friendly procedures of manufacturing
These cars are safer because of their large
size and durable construction
Interchangeable body panels Seating and storage capacity
Unique appearance Suitable for long distance travel
Highly fuel efficient Better fuel efficiency (Honda Insight and
Toyota Prius)
Smallest car (Two-seater) Large in size (Four-seater)
Can be easily parked
Affordable Highly expensive
Market Place of the Competitors
High
Low
Low High
Customization
S
a
f
e
t
y
1
3 2
8
5
4
67

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1. Volkswagen New Beetle
2. Honda Civic
3. Acura RSX
4. Chevrolet Cavalier
5. Ford Focus
6. Mitsubishi Eclipse
7. Toyota Celica
8. Smart Car
Segmentation
Segmentation is the practice of dividing the market into a definable, profitable, actionable,
and accessible segment that offer opportunities for growth to the company. It is impossible to
target the complete market therefore, it is important to have a definable segment (Wedel &
Kamakura, 2012).
Micro Compact Car can segment its markets psychographic where it can concentrate on
satisfying the needs of the new niche of consumers which are not served by the company ever
before. The customer group that is segmented are cost conscious and green-minded middle-
class people who can never think of buying a car attached to the Mercedes brand because of
its high cost (Iliff, 2015). The motive behind designing Smart Car is to save the money of the
customer. Besides this, the car is also being valued at $10,000 to $20,000, based on the
features demanding by the customers in the customization procedure. The car is a fuel-
efficient car that reduces the cost as well as pollution. This new customer segment can now

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get the change to purchase the perceived values of high quality and luxury related to the
brand “Mercedes Benz.”
Targeting
Targeting is the practice comprises breaking a market in different segments and then focusing
on the marketing efforts on single or more segments consisting of the consumers whose
desires and needs match the service and products offered by the business. This practice is
considered as the key to attracting new businesses and increasing sales (Morritt & Weinstein,
2012).
The target group of the Micro Compact car is affluent people. This customer group is wealthy
enough to purchase two cars (Yasav, 2019). These cars are majorly purchased by men car as
the second car with the motive to gift it to their children or wife. The Smart car is majorly
considered as the gadget than a common car. Besides this, they also like to have unique cars.
Another target group for Micro Compact Car is companies. All the smart cars utilized by the
businesses as a loan car. The users of these cars mostly have to travel for their business. For
instance, people who visit their customers for their business desire environmental friendly
cars that could also be convenient to park at any place. However, most significantly
companies due to their unique appearance and features purchase these cars. They want this
because then they stand out can use the car to promote their company as well (Smart
Business, 2011). Besides this, they want Smart Cars to stand out from the crowd.
Positioning
Positioning reflects where the service or product of the company stands in consideration of
similar products present in the market as well as in the eyes of the customer. A good position
of the product makes it unique and attracts customers to get the benefit of its features

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(Riezebos & Grinten, 2012). The Micro Compact car will be positioned in the Singapore
market as the safe and highly customized compact car for the customers.
Positioning Map
Ansoff Matrix
Ansoff Matrix is the tool of strategic planning used to get a framework by the senior
managers in order to devise their strategies for the future growth of the business (Fortin,
2017). Ansoff Matrix is comprised of four strategies out of which one or two strategies are
used by the businesses to grow their business.
More
Environmental
Less
Environmental
High
Performance
Low
Performance
Toyota
Honda
Smart
Car

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Market Penetration
Under market penetration, business put its efforts to develop by using its existing products or
services in the existing markets. In this, the company tries to grow its share in the market in
the existing business setting (Mckeown, 2013). The owner of the Smart car is continuously
involved in the promotions of their offering in order to attract its potential customer base.
Market Development
Under market development, companies put their efforts to expand business operations in the
new geographical area with the help of their existing products or services (Heath, 2016).
Micro Compact Cars or Smart Car Company is adopting the market development strategy.
Under this, it is trying to cover a new market that is Singapore through its existing offering of
Smart Cars. The company has planned to target a new niche customer segment that can offer
a chance to the company to earn more revenue and update new and advanced features in the
vehicle.
Product development
Under the product development strategy, the business tries to make a new product and target
its existing market segment in order to attain growth. Mercedes Benz is a renowned name in
the market which is involved in manufacturing most luxurious vehicles for the upper-class
segment.
Diversification
Diversification is the strategy adopted by the business to increase its market share by
launching new products or services in the new market (Darroch, 2014).

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Conclusion
The above report has performed the market analysis of the Singapore market to analyze the
market opportunities for Smart Cars. The paper has identified that today there is a high
demand for Smart Cars in the Singapore market due to its advanced and environmentally
friendly features. The political and economic stability of Singapore offers numerous
opportunities to Smart Car Company to establish its operations in the country. The concern of
the government regarding increasing pollution due to transportation will support company in
impressing the government. In addition, the paper has identified the segmentation, targeting
and positioning of the Smart car in the Singapore market. Micro Compact Car will segment
its markets psychographic, where it will concentrate on satisfying the needs of the new niche
of consumers which are not served by the company ever before. Besides this, the company
will be positioned in the market as the safe and highly customized compact car for the
customers.

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Competitiveness. Business, Management and education Journal, 13(2), 276-291.
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