How Do You Appeal to an International or Foreign Audience?

GTPlanet, my last topic with a similar title was called "How Do You Appeal to the Youth Market?" Now, it's about how you appeal to an international audience.

I'm not a big pro on a lot of things. But I think when a car company wants to appeal to another country, it's not that easy because you never know what a country wants. Personally, I love cars. I love auto racing even more. I can respect almost any car that makes it onto my American shores (just let me know when it hits Houston, alright?). As an example, let's say Citroen wanted to move into the American market. Suppose Citroen wanted to bring the Citroen C3 to America to start with, and then bring in the Citroen C5. See something wrong here? There's ALREADY a C5 from Chevrolet. Perhaps a name change would have to be made so that American car afficionados don't start bashing Citroen for not naming the C5 into something else. I don't know about the European scene, but let's say that Chrysler wanted to introduce to the United Kingdom, the Chrylser 300C with the Hemi. Or maybe Ford bringing its American beast, the Mustang, out to invade Japan. Something expressed last year on Speed Channel's "World's Greatest Auto Shows: Bologna," a fellow Italian said that "we basically don't know American cars." So about as much as most of us Americans like being represented elsewhere in the world, some countries may not even know what our cars are like.

So this is the basis of my thread here. How do you apply to an international audience? Is it easy for some, hard for others? Would a car have to seriously specially modified and regulated to even be accepted into a certain international market? How can a country accept an import in question? Carry on, if you wish.

I'd like to see the Mustang succeed in the international market. I know the car has a decent power & classic looks. If they handle great and if Ford can keep the price low, I think it could succeed overseas.

Here's my take on the topic. How do you appeal to International buyers? This is only part of it, but I've always thought that cars, designwise, should match the scenery. Japan, Australia, Europe, each land has their own unique scenery. IMO, cars you are trying to sell shouldn't look out of place. At least in the bad way. Cars should blend in the scenery. For example, Scion Xb would be cool in the city, larger city the better. Xb in rural Oregon might look a bit silly. I hope I'm making sense to you guys........

Ask the Germans. They seem to have the whole "counquering the automotive world" thing down pretty well.

One word. Marketing. There are very few truly crappy cars out there today, so chances are that there is nothing wrong with the product. But, if you want a car (or anything for that matter) to sell well, you have to have excellent marketing to back your product. Heck, you could sell a piece of crap, and just have the marketing power all the sales. Just look at the Scion xB. It has virtually the same practicality as a Corolla with worse performance, it looks like a pair of boxes, and it has worse performance than a Corolla, yet it's selling very well. Why? It's been turned into an icon of sorts through successful marketing that perfectly targeted the young adult/teenage audience.

And I believe the 300C is on sale in the UK. Top Gear reviewed it in a comparison test last year against a Jaguar S-Type R, and a Vauxhall Monaro.

One of the Top Gear Long Term test cars is a 300C, driven by the Managing Editor...

you mean for Citroen to move back INTO the american market. every European manufacturer has had a run in the US market. what I can basically tell is that
1. they sent the stuff meant for the "colonial" markets to the US
2. they didn't match the US standards for size.

european stuff was thumbs down because of this, and things like the DeLorian and Yugo (shudder) didn't help. so, basically, europe flipped us the bird in the automotive scene, and laugehed their asses off when were were buried in Hondas.

you wanna sell to the Europeans (like caddy's trying to do), you match what they want, you wanna sell in america, you match what WE want.

You have to look at what the average customer from a certain region is looking for. I don't think marketing will be the only key to success when it's about big expenditures like buying a car.


Europeans mostly aren't looking for an enormous car with a V8 5.7 engine that drinks gasoline like it costs nothing. Europeans don't really like extravagant features on their car either, just keep everything moderate, low-profile from the outside and it might sell. Small luxury details do work though, for example an expensive looking dashboard / steering wheel.


The average American wants space, lots of power and preferably it has to look expensive. It doesn't have to be that expensive, but big shiny wheels might change their mind to getting that car. Also features that make a car look strong will make it more popular, for example a bull bar at the front, or at least a big bumper. The back of the car should say: "6.0 V8" with big chrome letters.

For the Japanese market it is most important that a car looks modern and uses the newest technology. They like wild, bright colors as well. They don't really care about plastic elements on their cars, as long as it looks modern and shiny. Preferably the cars shouldn't be too big.



So a company could introduce the same car to different markets, but without different accesoiries and regional features I doubt it will be much of a success everywhere.


You can for example take an Opel Vectra.


*For the European market it should have: 2.0 L 4 cilinder engine, a "sporty" look by adding a little non functional spoiler, lightweight wheels and a little emblem saying "sport" on the side. The inside of the car should be functional, with moderate use of plastic elements. Aluminium and wooden elements would be better. Manual transmission.

*For the American market it should look like this: 3.0 V6, wheels should be 1 or 2 inches bigger and the chassis should be a little higher on its suspension. A more solid looking bumper on both sides. The look of the interior doesn't matter as much, most importantly is that it has standard airconditioning, cruise control and an automatic transmission.

*The Japanese would get the same engine / sports kit as the European one. Though, it should have a little more power. Maybe slightly modified headlights / tail lights might make it look a little more modern. Manual transmission and the displays on the dashboard should be digital, not analog. The car should have different paint options for Japan, and maybe some simple decals on the side.

Takumi Fujiwara

Ask the Germans. They seem to have the whole "counquering the automotive world" thing down pretty well.

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i fear the japanese have already overtaken us.


but its true, there are only two nations who can sell their cars everywhere, germans and japanese. the car came from germany and german cars always had the reputation to have high quality and include the latest technology. the latter is still true today, but the japanese have overtaken us by quality and price. of course the reputation still sells a lot of cars, but i would say the best ordinary cars come from japan these days.

Europeans mostly aren't looking for an enormous car with a V8 5.7 engine that drinks gasoline like it costs nothing. Europeans don't really like extravagant features on their car either, just keep everything moderate, low-profile from the outside and it might sell. Small luxury details do work though, for example an expensive looking dashboard / steering wheel.


The average American wants space, lots of power and preferably it has to look expensive. It doesn't have to be that expensive, but big shiny wheels might change their mind to getting that car. Also features that make a car look strong will make it more popular, for example a bull bar at the front, or at least a big bumper. The back of the car should say: "6.0 V8" with big chrome letters.

For the Japanese market it is most important that a car looks modern and uses the newest technology. They like wild, bright colors as well. They don't really care about plastic elements on their cars, as long as it looks modern and shiny. Preferably the cars shouldn't be too big.

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Spot on. Add to that the fact that England is RHD and most american manufacturers probably cant see the benefit in terms of re-tooling and exporting vs income earned against established brands.

One problem I don't see mentioned is that "american-sized" cars can't work in a lot of Europe. Unlike the US, where everything is built around large roads, European cities are aincient. Things like a Crown Victoria or many SUVs are so long and wide, there'd be serious issues navgating city streets. Parking and passing would be nearly impossible. Plus, out of the cities, many roads are much less flat and straight than we see in the USA. Cars need to be lighter and stiffer to keep up any kind of speed on the roads there.

When I was in Italy, and even parts of the UK, last year, I noticed that many of the cars we have in the US simply wouldn't fit where they need to go.

I'd start up regional organizations which would engineer and build cars suited to ther own market.


Much like a Ford NA, Ford Europe, Ford Australia or GM NA, Opel/Vauxhall, Holden situation.

I'd like to see Holden get into the international market under their own badge instead of Chevrolet, Vauxhall and kind of Pontiac.

Takumi Fujiwara

One problem I don't see mentioned is that "american-sized" cars can't work in a lot of Europe. Unlike the US, where everything is built around large roads, European cities are aincient. Things like a Crown Victoria or many SUVs are so long and wide, there'd be serious issues navgating city streets. Parking and passing would be nearly impossible. Plus, out of the cities, many roads are much less flat and straight than we see in the USA. Cars need to be lighter and stiffer to keep up any kind of speed on the roads there.

When I was in Italy, and even parts of the UK, last year, I noticed that many of the cars we have in the US simply wouldn't fit where they need to go.

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I don't think the size of the car is the key factor when it's about American cars not being popular in Europe. It's the fact that gasoline is taxed so much that it costs 3 or 4 times as much as it does in the USA, that's the main reason why people don't buy American cars. Or at least that was until recently because I am starting to see more Chryslers around. Ford is the only car manufacturer that was already well established in Europe for a long period of time.

Of course also General Motor was, but more with brands like Opel, no chevies.

Radicool02

I'd like to see Holden get into the international market under their own badge instead of Chevrolet, Vauxhall and kind of Pontiac.

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Why? So you can feel like a proud, happy Australian? It's all business man. Selling practically the same car with 2 different badges isn't exactly efficient. Most people outside of Australia even heard about Holden, the marketing campaign needed to establish the name Holden outside of Australia wouldn't be worth the investment, when they can label the car an Opel and sell it right away.

It's easy to appeal to a foreign audience. Name a car "Corolla", build it in fourteen countries, and sell it in 150.

Takumi Fujiwara

When I was in Italy, and even parts of the UK, last year, I noticed that many of the cars we have in the US simply wouldn't fit where they need to go.

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Plus, many of the cars they have over there are too small for US tastes. Works both ways.

I remember watching on Speed Channel with the 2004 Beijing Auto Show. I know we discussed the Chinese auto market, and some of the names at this show was Ford, Cadillac, BMW, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz to name a few. As this sector is expanding in the world market, China is perhaps the biggest target right now for the economy. So if a company wanted to boost sales and appeal to a booming economic sector, let it be China. When I made my topic, you may remember that I mentioned Chinese companies like Red Flag and the controversial Chery (controversy in being that automobiles look too similar to other cars). I think it was Chery who wanted to bring their automobiles from China to the States. The Ford Focus is an import to America, I believe. The European-spec Ford Focus is very stylish up front. I'd love to have one if I had the money and was shopping for cars.

Living here in Houston, I guess some of the vehicles sold in Mexico find their way into America. Some of the vehicles I've seen around my way includes a Renault Clio, Peugeot 206, and the Ford Ka. I've seen an old (1980s?) Alfa Romeo, and a Daihatsu once. I don't know if what cars find their way into Mexico are different from what we have in America. Imagine how many people would like to have a mid-engined Renault Clio here in the States... well, maybe the tuner crowd.

Some companies do pretty well selling their cars elsewhere in the world. That statement holds true for some of my American companies selling some cars elsewhere in the world. I think Alfa Romeo is trying to make a return to America, and I'll tell you what. That Alfa Romeo GT would look pretty cool in America. I wonder how the Chevrolet Cobalt would look in Japan or England. I heard Chrysler's supposed to have their 300 in Australia, to compete in the Australian V8 Supercar series. It's a big world, isn't it? (^_^)

JohnBM01

The Ford Focus is an import to America, I believe.

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Not so - it would be inefficient and basically stupid to import such a high-volume seller. As I mentioned in this thread regarding vehicle production locations, about two-thirds of Focuses are built in the United States, while the remaining third is built in Mexico. Hatchback models - badged as ZX3 and ZX5 (and formerly SVT) are all built in Mexico, while sedan and true wagon models are built in the United States.

If you're ever curious about where a car's built, check the first one or two characters in its VIN number. In the last fifteen years, just thirteen different countries have participated in producing cars for the US market: (number, letter, or letters are the starting digit of the VIN)

1, 4, or 5 = United States (Ford Explorer)
2 = Canada (Mercury Grand Marquis)
3 = Mexico (Pontiac Aztek)
YS-YW = Sweden (Volvo S60)
SA-SM = United Kingdom (Land Rover Discovery)
W = Germany (BMW X3)
K = Republic of Korea (Kia Optima)
J = Japan (Infiniti G35)
ZA-ZR = Italy (Alfa Romeo 164)
VF-VR = France (Peugeot 405)
6 = Australia (Pontiac GTO)
9A-9E = Brazil (Volkswagen Corrado)
TR-TV = Hungary (Audi TT)

That may seem a little confusing; basically if your vehicle's VIN is YV1LS5826T8272144, then it starts with YS-YW so it's built in Sweden (or if it's WDBTJ76HF47222147 it starts with W so it's built in Germany). From there you can narrow it down even further to manufacturer. For instance, while YS-YW means sweden, Saab exclusively uses YS, and Volvo exclusively uses YV. Also, SA is exclusively used by Ford's British marques - Land Rover, Jaguar, and probably Aston Martin. Land Rover VINs start with SAL; Jaguar VINs with SAJ. This led to the coolest VIN ever, when Land Rover coded the Discovery "TY124" beginning in 1999, meaning Discovery VINs actually started with "SALTY124", SAL being Land Rover's code and TY124 being the specific model.

And that's more than you probably ever wanted to know about that...

I knew I had the prefix numbers correct. my 90 Lumina started with the 2 prefix. by then I had learned that the way cars were basically split was that midsize cars were made in Canada, compacts in the US, subcompacts and minis from mexico. I know that most of the American Auto factory production has an emphasis, now, on NOTHING but thrucks and SUV's. that's probably one of the reasons american's can't sell cars anymore, they're too used to building utility vehicles.

kind of a suprise to find out that Hungary has the plant that makes the TT's.

everybody's got the point, now, that america has different requirements, BUT, america hasn't!

JohnBM01

The Ford Focus is an import to America, I believe.

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The design is. It was released in Europe a couple years before North American introduction.

Sniffs

I know that most of the American Auto factory production has an emphasis, now, on NOTHING but thrucks and SUV's.

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They're outsourcing those more and more too. Chevrolet builds less than fifteen percent of Silverado trucks in the US; the remaining ~85% are built in Canada; same goes for the full-size GMC Sierra. "Import" brands tend to make a higher percentage of trucks in the US that domestic brands:

Full-size pickups:
- Chevrolet Silverado: 87% Canada, 13% USA
- Dodge Ram: 94% USA, 6% Mexico
- Ford F-150: 92% USA, 8% Canada
- GMC Sierra: 87% Canada, 13% USA
- Nissan Titan: 100% USA
- Toyota Tundra: 100% USA

kind of a suprise to find out that Hungary has the plant that makes the TT's.

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Yep - German it is not. Then again, the BMW X5 and Z4 are built in the US, as is the Mercedes ML-class.

mercedes gelaendewagen and BMW X3 are made in austria by steyr puch.

some boxsters are made in finland by valmet.

as for how you appeal to an international audience; how about by building a good car. cars like the camry and accord are not getting huge sales numbers coz f thier looks.

of course that doesnt always work. the aztek, was, i guess, a good car. it was just as ugly as sin. and all the marketing in the world couldnt help it. so marketing in and off itself isnt enough, as one or two have alluded already.

Which is easier to market internationally and have great success with: a compact, a sports car, a minivan, a truck, or none of the above?

As I stated earlier, many of us here in America want something versatile, good-looking, and maybe has great character or style. Something to also get to know is that many cars were made for specific markets, so to take one car for a specially-designated market doesn't always mean it will be successful elsewhere. As a racing gamer, I'm just looking through some of the cars in Gran Turismo 4. That Alfa Romeo car I was mentioning earlier? It's the Alfa Romeo GT with a 3.2 liter V6 with 24 valves per cylinder, making 236hp just about. Alfa Romeo isn't bad with styling. It's a love it or hate it deal for me. I remember reading about an upscale Peugeot luxury sedan about a few years ago. Man! It was beautiful. I don't know as much French as I'd like to know, but it was something sweet. Citroens are very stylish. Most racing fans would know about Citroen from rally racing. They are a strong force at that.

In terms of imports, a lot of American car afficionados didn't like the newer Pontiac GTOs. You know me, I think Australian cars are pretty bad ass. They are like sleeper cars to me, slick styling with powerful motors. But take the Holden Monaro and let Vauxhall take it in, I don't think many hated it. But take the Monaro and let Pontiac screw it up any way they want, and it's crap. I don't know. Maybe us Americans have much different tastes, which is why many of us probably wouldn't care less about any car company or any car we've never heard of.

neanderthal

mercedes gelaendewagen and BMW X3 are made in austria by steyr puch.

some boxsters are made in finland by valmet.

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Furthermore, the Volkswagen Touareg is built in Slovakia, the first-generation Volvo S40 was built in Belgium, the Mini is built in the UK, and the Chrysler Crossfire is built in Germany.

But their VINs tell a different story. I still and always will go by that.

neanderthal

as for how you appeal to an international audience; how about by building a good car. cars like the camry and accord are not getting huge sales numbers coz f thier looks.

of course that doesnt always work. the aztek, was, i guess, a good car. it was just as ugly as sin. and all the marketing in the world couldnt help it. so marketing in and off itself isnt enough, as one or two have alluded already.

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Bad example there. The Toyota Camry is exceedingly popular, seeing how it's the best selling car in USA. And not only is the Honda Accord virtually just as popular, it's also widely regarded as being one of the best mid size sedans ever made.

And ugly cars with practicality can sell well, thanks to good marketing. Just ask Scion.

The Toyota Camry is exceedingly popular, seeing how it's the best selling car in USA. And not only is the Honda Accord virtually just as popular, it's also widely regarded as being one of the best mid size sedans ever made.

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yup. the problem with the consumer groups in america is that they are near ALL they ever reccomend. accord/camry/Altima are the only ones that pass everything perfectly, including all the new safety tests. for example, they now pull their reccomendation for Focus because it does not pass an independendant testing corporation's side impact test *shakes head* I have stopped believeing in that specific consumer group's car reccomendations, because that's all they'll accept as good enough now.

Ev0

Bad example there. The Toyota Camry is exceedingly popular, seeing how it's the best selling car in USA. And not only is the Honda Accord virtually just as popular, it's also widely regarded as being one of the best mid size sedans ever made.

And ugly cars with practicality can sell well, thanks to good marketing. Just ask Scion.

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the point was they sell well because they are well made cars, not because they are sexy or have great marketing. there are cars that are a lot sexier (mazda 6, probably also has better marketing) in the same category, but that dont sell as well.


as for teh scions, they arent ugly. they are polarising, and thats good. the viper was vesceral and polarising, the ram was the same, they both did ok. the scions are polarising as well, sales are beating tyota expectations so far.

the aztek was just ugly.

Sniffs

yup. the problem with the consumer groups in america is that they are near ALL they ever reccomend. accord/camry/Altima are the only ones that pass everything perfectly, including all the new safety tests. for example, they now pull their reccomendation for Focus because it does not pass an independendant testing corporation's side impact test *shakes head* I have stopped believeing in that specific consumer group's car reccomendations, because that's all they'll accept as good enough now.

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if youre talking about the IIFHS test (insurance isntitute for highway safety) its a far more valid test than the govt test whch only registers pass fail. the ins test also factors in cost to repair and likelihood of fatalities.

I think everyone is missing a major pioint and that is basicaly engines.

You could sell the same car in the US and Europe but all you'd have to do is have a different engine choices. For Europe, 2Ltr is generally the limit for an affordable 'sports car'. But in America you would expect atleast a 3ltr V6.

neanderthal

the point was they sell well because they are well made cars, not because they are sexy or have great marketing. there are cars that are a lot sexier (mazda 6, probably also has better marketing) in the same category, but that dont sell as well.

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It's got nothing to do with looks. The Mazda 6 isn't as good of a car as the Altima, Camry, and Accord. Many members of the buying public see that.

M5Power

It's got nothing to do with looks. The Mazda 6 isn't as good of a car as the Altima, Camry, and Accord. Many members of the buying public see that.

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Depends on your measure. Mazda6 rides harder than the Camry and Accord. That isn't for everyone, but then again I don't think Mazda wanted to go directly up against Toyota and Honda.

Also Toyota and Honda have established a certain "image" of reliability, wheras Mazda has not.