Background and Products Offered by Chevrolet Company
Origin
Chevrolet Company is an automobile manufacturing company established in the year 1911 through a partnership between Louis Chevrolet and William Durant in Detroit (General Motors Corporation, 2006). Throughout its operations since the year 1911, the company has expanded its operations to the global automotive market by opening new branches in various parts of Europe, Asia and Australia.
Trend
Chevrolet Company was acquired by General Motors Company in the year 1918 to facilitate competitiveness in the companies through shared management
Purpose
The purpose of the company is to establish unique combination of outstanding qualities to enable the company to stand the test of time in the highly competitive automotive market.
Products
The main motor vehicle products offered in Chevrolet Company include Chevy cars, Crossovers/SUVs, Trucks, and Vans. Some of the models are Cadillac and LS Hatchback among others. By having wide variety of motor vehicles, the company has bee able to capture wide customer base
Overview of financial performance of Chevrolet Company
Though the company has been facing stiff competition in the automotive market, it has managed to be the best-selling marquee in America
Average income
It is estimated that the company has an average annual income of $ 50 to $ 100 million. However, the company experienced the worst financial performance in the year 1980, during the time of great depression in the US and the world at large. The revenues of the company reduced by 42% from the year 1975 where annual revenues were $ 74 million, to $ 43 million in the year 1981 (General Motors Corporation, 2006)
The worst Time for Chevrolet Company
The financial performance of the company worsened during the 2007/09 financial crisis, as its host company, GM was declared bankrupt, which led the company to incur a loss of $ 37 million.
SWOT Analysis of Chevrolet Company
The SWOT analysis of the company indicates that, the company’s overall performance is still good.
Strengths
- The brand image of Chevrolet is dependable and long-lasting in the American automobile industry, placing the company at the verge of competing successfully in the automotive markets (Chevrolet, 1998)
- The company’s products diversity in terms of various target groups has enhanced high utility of its products in the markets. As a result, the company has good strong-hold of performing well in the automotive industry.
Weaknesses
- One of the company’s weaknesses can be attributed to its inability to provide luxury vehicles in the car market (General Motors Corporation, 2006). As a result, the company lacks the capacity to compete successfully with well known brands like Mercedes Benz and BMW among others.
- The design of the vehicles produced by the company is dull and not much attractive. As a result, the company does not stand any chances of out-competing the other companies who develop credible designs in the automotive industry.
Opportunities
- Company’s opportunities can be attributed to its ability to deploy hybrid technology in the manufacturing of its vehicles. Since the company has largely embraced this technology, it stands the chance to develop better and more advanced cars in the long-run (General Motors Corporation, 2006).
- Considering the changing trends in energy deficiency, the company has embraced the hybrid technology to come up with vehicles that are fuel-efficient to enhance sustainability.
Threats
- Some threats seem to face the company’s sustainability in its operations. With the rising cost of fuel prices, the prices for gases that the most of the company’s vehicles use pose a great threat to the company (General Motors Corporation, 2006)
- With the increase in the price of gases, the demand for the company’s vehicles is anticipated to decline significantly. As a result, the company will experience declined volume of sales, which in return will affect its financial performance
References
Chevrolet, (1998). Chevrolet-1911-1996. Web.
General Motors Corporation, (2006). The Chevrolet Motor Car Company. Web.