Each student has to research and analyse into the allotted company particularly with reference to : Introduction to company & Industry, its business, Products /services/brands offered, Mission, Vision, SMART objectives, weekly share price movements since 1st march 2010, its key financial results, Core competency ,main global competitors with their market share. ( word limit 400 words) . Also , Every student has to present ones work in class for two minutes using PPT slides. this will be on the class-day of the week of submission , Note: Each of you MUST refer at least 10 sources. and use Harvard referencing . Please upload your work here ( word file of 400 words) : Use file name as ‘youname_Company_Taskweek1′ eg SumeshDadwal_TescoTaskweek1’ Motor vehicles and parts. Company Volkswagen. Group portrait. The Volkswagen Group in summaryThe Volkswagen Group with its headquarters in Wolfsburg is one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers and the largest carmaker in Europe. In 2007, the Group increased the number of vehicles delivered to customers to 6. 189 million (2006: 5. 734 million), corresponding to a 9. percent share of the world passenger car market. The Group operates 48 production plants in thirteen European countries and a further six countries in the Americas, Asia and Africa. Around the world, more than 360,000 employees produce almost 25,400 vehicles or are involved in vehicle-related services each working day. The Volkswagen Group sells its vehicles in more than 150 countries. The Group is made up of nine brands from seven European countries: Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, Skoda, Scania and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.
The product range extends from low-consumption small cars to luxury class vehicles. In the commercial vehicle sector, the product offering spans pick ups, busses and heavy trucks. It is the goal of the Group to offer attractive, safe and environmentally sound vehicles which are competitive on an increasingly tough market and which set world standards in their respective classes. The Group consists of eight brands: Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, Skoda and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. http://www. volkswagen. e/vwcms/master_public/virtualmaster/en2/unternehmen/konzern. html Our missionVW Autoeuropa strives for excellence in the manufacture of high quality cars in Portugal, and is perfectly aware of the fact that success, in an ever increasingly competitive market, depends on this philosophy. What we demand from ourselves, reflects this challenge: integrity, respect for people and their abilities, excellent teamwork, responsibility and autonomy, leadership skills, excellent professional qualifications, and the commitment to attain a common goal. | At all levels and in all areas, we are organised in work groups, in which everyone’s ideas are contribute to the continuous search for the best solutions for the proposed objectives. | We firmly believe in personal and professional development. Therefore, we conceived the Personal Development and Career Plan, that allows us to identify and implement concrete measures suited to the development of each individual. This approach has led, for example, to a considerable investment in professional training. | Your future in constant training!
In order to meet the needs of an industry under constant evolution, VW Autoeuropa has a basic philosophy of continuous training. In our Training Centre we provide our employees with the know-how they need to develop their skills. Our constant development of an always increasing specialised labour force is aimed at obtaining a product that is ‘Best in Class’. The employees of VW Autoeuropa breathe life into our vision and mission. While working with us, you will be in touch with a motivated and extremely competitive team, which will share its know how and experience with you.
In exchange, you will see your efforts valued. | | While relating to and working with your new colleagues, you will discover what it means to be part of a Successful Team. If you are interested in a career at VW Autoeuropa, you should have a strong interest in the automobile industry, in new technologies and be willing to develop and continuously improve your knowledge and skills. We hire people with varied academic and professional backgrounds, which allows us to obtain the diversity required to develop creative solutions for our customers.
Although a good academic curriculum and solid technical know-how/ skills continue to be the pre-requisites for any position, we also prefer some experience, obtained at a previous employer or during an internship. Besides this, we also look for people with the will to learn and fluency in English and/or German. Our VisionAutoeuropa – the most attractive Volkswagen plant in Europe. We produce our cars with highest quality and productivity based on flexible infrastructures and skilled human resources. http://www. autoeuropa. t/articles/en/our-vision History It took four years since the signing of the shareholder agreement between VW and FORD in July 1991 until the start of production. During these 4 years one of Europe’s most modern automotive production facilities was built in Palmela, with a total area of around 2 million sqm, including the Industrial Park where some of the main suppliers have settled. Construction works on the Palmela factory ran on schedule and all the european standards regarding safety and environmental protection were met. The plant is divided into four main production areas: Pressshop, Bodyshop, Paintshop, and Final Assembly. | The plant and equipment were designed using advanced technology and incorporating the latest developments in automation and computerised production control, in order to meet the high standards required on manufacturing a quality product. | In order to establish the plant’s layout, concepts, methods and procedures, several teams of specialists studied some of the more productive industrial complexes in the world. The best features which were found have been used at VW Autoeuropa, making this complex one of the more competitive, at any level, both in Europe and the World. Since its inauguration, VW Autoeuropa has been the target of several investment agreements between Volkswagen and the Portuguese state, namely in the end of 2003 and most recently, in November of 2007, anticipating the arrival of new models to the plant. Those investments aimed the setlement of new production infrastructures, equipment modernization and the training of the employees in order to turn the production lines and methods each time more efficient and increase the competences of its employees.
VW Autoeuropa’s philosophy of continuous improvement has been placing it as one of the companies of the Volkswagen group in the leading edge in several productivity indicators. Goals of VolkswagenVolkswagen sets aggressive sales goalsVolkswagen, buoyed by strong sales, a growing portfolio of products, a mammoth new factory in Tennessee and a loyal fan base, set a goal to sell 800,000 vehicles in the United States by 2018 – a target that some analysts think may be unrealistic.
Though Volkswagens have been selling better than many brands, figures show that the German automaker has a way to go to reach its sale goal. Volkswagen of America sold 213,454 units in 2009, a decrease of 4. 3 percent from 223,128 units sold in 2008. One factor in Volkswagen’s favor is that sales for some of its models have been on the rise. Sales of the Jetta, the company’s bread-and-butter model line, for instance, jumped 26. 9 percent in December, and GTI sales were up 75. 9 percent. And December was Volkswagen’s sixth consecutive sales month in which it beat 2008 totals.
Volkswagen has ramped up its advertising recently as well, with new TV commercials featuring an update on the classic “Punch Buggy” game that debuted during the Super Bowl. Still, analysts point out that it may be difficult for Volkswagen to reach its sales goal as it faces strong competition from brands such as Hyundai, Kia, Ford and General Motors. “The idea that the market is somehow going to make room for all of this Volkswagen expansion is an aggressive assumption, I think,” said Rebecca A.
Lindland, director of industry research for The Americas-Automotive Group with IHS Global Insight. “In our forecast, we have the Volkswagen brand at 450,000 by 2018,” she said. It also could be difficult to reach sales goals as the number of consumers actually looking to buy cars has remained relatively stagnant from year to year, reaching about 13 million to 16 million customers in a good year. After such a deep recession, it could be a long time before the industry sees numbers like that again, said Jack Nerad, editorial director of Kelley Blue Book. You’re not in a growing market, like China or Russia, where sales growth raises all boats,” he said. “Most analysts think that we will never see in this decade sales numbers like we did in the last decade. “Analysts also are fearful that the same aggressive pursuit of growth and sales numbers that got Toyota into trouble with recalls and a suddenly sagging reputation for quality could trip up Volkswagen if it insists on pursuing such aggressive growth. “They need to be cautious. What Volkswagen needs to do first and foremost is to address their quality and reliability issues,” said Ms.
Lindland. “We still hear some of the same things in terms of inconsistency” in quality control, she said. Still, in a speech to the National Automobile Dealers Association Convention on Feb. 13, Stefan Jacoby, Volkswagen’s CEO, pointed to heavy investment and a growing product portfolio as reasons why he thought the sales target was reasonable. “At a time when others are retrenching, we’re investing $4 billion on our future in this country. That’s how confident we are in our company. That’s how confident we are in the American economy.
The U. S. economy is rebounding. And Volkswagen is ready,” Mr. Jacoby said. He also noted that Volkswagen dealers had spent more than $800 million in building more dealerships over the past five years alone. He said the company’s new Chattanooga, Tenn. , factory, expected to employ 2,000 and to begin production in 2011, was a key part of the growth plan. Analysts say it should help VW because the pricing of its cars usually is somewhat higher than competitors’ autos, and that a plant in this country should help level the playing field. Volkswagen’s models don’t necessarily match up to the competition in the way that Japanese cars match up vs. one another,” Mr. Nerad said. “Volkswagen, vehicles that are the same size are higher priced and have a different level of features. That makes it hard for people to do comparison shopping and hard for Volkswagen to get on shopping lists. “Mr. Jacoby said the brand’s improving quality ratings should help sell more cars. Eight of VW’s products are recommended by Consumer Reports, and the 2009 JD Power and Associates Initial Quality Survey results for Volkswagen improved by 16 points, he said. When I came into my role as CEO in 2007, Volkswagen ranked 30th out of 36 manufacturers for overall satisfaction. By the end of 2008, we had shot up to 15th, and last year we were seventh. We aren’t going to stop there,” Mr. Jacoby said. First published on February 24, 2010 at 12:00 amhttp://www. post-gazette. com/pg/10055/1038028-185. stm | The share price of Volkswagen AG was Euro 60 on 1st March 2010 which increased and reached ? 65 http://www. londonstockexchange. com/exchange/prices-and-news/stocks/summary/company-summary. html? fourWayKey=DE0007664039ZZEURSSX4
