Toyota Scion - most contacts with consumers come via online chat or email. Not that surprising, given the online focus that Toyota have always given to Scion (see earlier posts) and the young target audience.

Toyota woos Net crowd

More than 50 percent of Toyota Scion's contact with customers occurs via online chat or e-mail, Jim Farley, the company's chief, said at the New York International Auto Show on Thursday.

"We're listening," he said during a news conference to introduce the company's latest concept car, the t2B. The boxy-looking auto was created to combine the attitude of the company's boxy xB with the upscale interior of its TC coupe, Farley said. Toyota broadcast the unveiling of the car online.

The company, which caters low-priced, customizable cars like the TC and xB to young people, relies heavily on the Web, e-mail and chat to reach those customers.

Having seen the company's online configurator, most customers know exactly what they want when they walk into a dealership. The company also offers no-haggle prices, which eliminates bargaining on-site. In addition, Toyota Scion advertises on gaming and lifestyle Web sites, which further suggests the company may be savvy when it comes to the Net crowd.

Posted by John G. Spooner

Renault & Mahindra Announce Joint Venture to Make Logans in India

French car maker Renault and Mahindra group announced on Monday a joint venture agreement to build and sell Renault's low-cost Logan cars in India beginning in 2007.

Automobile major Mahindra and Mahindra, a subsidiary of the $2.5 billion Mahindra group, will hold a 51 per cent stake in the car venture while Renault will hold 49 per cent, they said in a joint statement.

The estimated cost of the project is $165 million (125 million euros) with an initial aim of producing 50,000 cars per year, the partners said.

"For Renault, entering the Indian market constitutes a major step in its international development including India," the statement said.

Logan will be marketed under the brand of Mahindra Renault, it added. Production is to begin in the first half of 2007.

The Indian automobile market grew 68 per cent between 1998 and 2003 and in 2004 accounted for 1.04 million vehicles, Renault said.

Economic growth in India, with a population of more than one billion, surged more than eight per cent in 2004.

India will become the sixth country for production of the Logan, after Romania, Russia,Morocco, Colombia and Iran.

The budget car was developed by Romanian car maker Dacia and its parent company Renault.
Renault says the Logan has been designed for markets with limited consumer purchasing power and where customers are seeking cars without the accessories sought by buyers in western Europe.

The venture marks the second into car-making by the Mahindra group, which earlier entered a joint venture with Ford of the United States. It later withdrew from that agreement.

Ford Dominates Polk Loyalty Awards

FORD Motor Corporation has won the ‘Overall Make Award’ in the Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards 2004. Ford dominated the individual awards, winning 10 out the 16 categories, from make loyalty (Ford), to luxury car (Lincoln Town Car) to full size SUV (Ford Expedition).

The Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards recognize manufacturers for superior owner loyalty performance. Loyalty is determined when a household that owns a new vehicle returns to market and purchases or leases another new vehicle of the same model or make.

“Many long-term customers still wouldn’t dream of trading in their beloved Lincoln Town Car, Mercury Grand Marquis or Ford Explorer for a competitor,” says R.L. Polk & Co. in its Loyalty Awards survey. Older owners of well-established nameplates, such as Lincoln Town Car, are most loyal buyers.

Ford Division has won the award every year since the inaugural year of the Polk Automotive Loyalty Awards in 1996 and boasts the highest number of model loyalty awards with four models posting the highest loyalty rate within their vehicle segments.

Polk officials credit Ford’s success in retaining its customers to new vehicle designs and improvements to the Expedition, Grand Marquis, Town Car and Navigator. Healthy incentives also are credited.

R. L. Polk & Co. is the premier provider of automotive information and marketing solutions. Polk collects and interprets global data, and provides extensive automotive business expertise to help customers understand their market position, identify trends, build brand loyalty, conquest new business and gain a competitive advantage. A privately held global firm, Polk is based in Southfield, Michigan with operations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Subaru launch new SUV online - 6 month buzz period:

Site here

Story here

When Subaru was plotting how to build awareness for its upcoming B9 Tribeca luxury SUV -- a new model, in a new space -- the carmaker went online to build and maintain excitement for a 6-month pre-launch campaign.
The campaign was developed by New York interactive agency R/GA, part of Interpublic Group. It aims to introduce prospective buyers to Subaru's first 7-passenger luxury vehicle. The online campaign includes a mini-site at b9tribeca.com, and an online sweepstakes. Site visitors are encouraged to opt-in to receive information by e-mail as it becomes available. An online B9 Tribeca giveaway incites users to sign up.
Offline efforts are comprised of traveling interactive kiosks that will provide information and capture customer opt-ins at major auto shows. Subaru will also organize events at the shows for existing owners that will encourage opt-in to the e-mail list.
"Our goal is to harness the pent-up demand for the product, to build awareness, and to let people start engaging with the brand," said Jonathan Rivard, manager of Subaru's CRM group.
The three-phase pre-launch campaign began in the fall with a "staging" phase. Images of the new model were released on the site. The goal was to build buzz around the B9 Tribeca. The "reveal" phase started when the site was officially launched in conjunction with the Detroit Auto Show in early January.
As Subaru promotes the B9 Tribeca at other auto shows, the site now functions as a lead-generation tool, collecting leads used to contact prospective buyers as the model becomes available for purchase at dealerships in early summer.
"It's exciting to launch with interactive leading, without using mass media," said Anne Benvenuto, director of strategy, planning and integration for R/GA. "But it means these dollars have to work harder."
It's a formula Subaru used in the past. It launched its sporty Impreza WRX in 2001. For that model, it launched rally.Subaru.com in conjunction with the Sports Car Club of America. For the redesign of the 2005 Legacy and Outback lines, it used a pre-launch site at need-desire.com to tease prospects with product details in early 2004.
"Subaru consumers are very Web-savvy, from gathering information before a purchase to communicating with dealerships when they're ready to purchase," Rivard said. "We provide the tools and programs to drive them to the dealerships."
The b9tribeca.com site is designed to build consideration for the vehicle. Video shot specifically for the Web shows the driving experience from the driver's seat point of view, with multiple shots of the vehicle interior and exterior.
"It's a rich experience. It combines a very experiential layer with a layer full of information," said Mauro Cavalletti, creative director at R/GA. "We'll be continually adding pictures and features to keep the excitement level up for six months."
This summer, Subaru will begin a more traditional mass-media campaign, incorporating TV, print and outdoor in the mix. The b9tribeca.com and Subaru.com sites will still be central repositories for information. Ads in other media will drive prospects there.
Subaru advertises online in various auto interest sites, including Edmunds.com, AOL Autos and Yahoo! Autos. It also does some search engine marketing and optimization for select keywords that convey the Subaru brand values.

Renault Samsung link with Korean Telco for In-Car Telematics

A good example of where things are going:

Renault Samsung Motors Co. said yesterday it that signed an alliance with KT Freetel Co., Korea's No. 2 mobile carrier, to develop and commercialize an in-vehicle wireless data service, just two weeks after a inking similar deal with the nation's top carrier SK Telecom Co.

The telematics (a combination of telecommunication and informatics) system will provide digital multimedia broadcasts, allowing passengers to watch satellite television programs on a display while driving and receive wireless information on stocks, traffic and games provided by KTF, according to the nation's fourth-largest carmaker.

A three-dimensional image navigation service will give passengers access to digital road maps and computerized voice directions to their destinations.

The telematics system called Information & Navigation System-700 is to be installed on the carmaker's 2006 model-year SM series, Renault Samsung said in a statement.

(sophie@heraldm.com)

Fod Focus 'Quality Redefined' quiz in the Guardian

Very girly.