Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning pdf ebook

China dominates sales of battery electric vehicles
Breakdown by region, unit sales (m)
China
US
Europe
Asia ex-China
Rest of world
China accounts for over half of BEV sales and its
market share is expected to increase tp 65%
2017
4
3
2
1
0
2022*
Source
: Frost & Sullivan 
© FT

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93
CASE STUDY
Singapore’s incentives include tax breaks for five 
years, which can be extended, and R&D grants that 
can cover up to 30 per cent of the cost of projects that 
involve product, application or process development, 
according to the Singapore Economic Development 
Board. They also offer expensive land at discounted 
rates, says a person with experience of Singapore’s 
economic planning. ‘They definitely would have 
given [Dyson] a favourable tax break,’ they add.
Dyson refuses to reveal the scale of its invest-
ment, though the EDB’s Kiren Kumar says the com-
pany would double its 1,000-strong workforce in the 
country through the investment.
Advanced manufacturing is a priority for Singa-
pore, which deems it a way to raise productivity at 
a time when the city-state has struggled to maintain 
high levels of efficiency.
For Dyson, which says its Singapore invest-
ment was premised on market access rather than 
incentives, no amount of government support can 
remove the need to pour its own resources into the 
venture.
Sir James has ruled out an initial public offering to 
fund the project. Earnings before tax at Weybourne 
Group, the holding entity for Dyson’s commercial 
interests, rose 27 per cent to £801m last year, while 
revenue jumped two-fifths to £3.5bn.
Its debt levels are low by the standards of indus-
trial companies, giving it room to borrow signifi-
cantly, while the core business generates cash.
But still, Sir James is acutely aware of the chal-
lenge he has taken on. ‘Investing in new technolo-
gies requires many leaps of faith and huge financial 
commitment over long periods,’ he told a Financial 
Times dinner this year. ‘En route, there can be mul-
tiple sleepless nights and lots of frustration,’ he said 
before adding that, at heart, ‘Dyson was never a vac-
uum cleaner company’.
Source
: from ‘Dyson: A British inventor pivots to Asia’, Financial Times, 26/10/18 (Campbell P, Pooler, M. and Palma, S.).
Discussion questions
1 
What environmental factors are behind Dyson’s move into the electric car market and its decision to move 
its operations to Singapore?
2 
What does Sir James means by ‘Dyson was never a vacuum cleaner company’?
3 
Use the Five Forces model to establish how competitive the electric car industry sector is.

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‘When the future becomes less visible, when the fog descends, the forecasting 
horizon that you can trust comes closer and closer to your nose. In those 
circumstances being receptive to new directions becomes important. You need 
to take account of opportunities and threats and enhance an organisation’s 
responsiveness.’
Igor Ansoff, quoted by Hill (1979)
CUSTOMER ANALYSIS