Is Tesla finally getting serious competition?

24

October

2016

5/5 (2)

For years we are talking about the ‘real’ breakthrough of electric vehicles. However, the large and established car manufacturers are far behind Tesla Motors since the introduction of their Model S in 2009 and Tesla has new, even better models that are on their way.
The Paris Motor Show, that took place from the 1st till the 16th of October this year, showed us that a transition in the automotive industry is happening and competition for Tesla is getting bigger and more serious with every new model being introduced to the market.

Paris Motor Show has finished, and most of the new vehicles and concepts introduced by the biggest automotive players were hybrid or full electric. Volkswagen, Opel and Mercedes showed they are seriously working towards manufacturing electric cars that can drive >300km with a full charge, which now is only possible with a Tesla Model S.

Volkswagen was recently involved in the large emission scandal that shocked the world. Now, it’s time to clean up their act. ‘Our future is electric’ says Herbert Dies, the CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars. Volkswagen introduced the Volkswagen I.D., a concept car that is in the same class as the popular Volkswagen Golf. The I.D. has a range of 400 to 600 kilometers dependent on what battery the buyer chooses, but the launch date is set to 2020.

Mercedes showcased the Mercedes Generation EQ, a concept car that will not be produced, but it does show that Mercedes is capable of manufacturing batteries that can make cars drive a range of 500 kilometers.

Unlike Volkswagen and Mercedes, Opel did not showcase a concept car. Opel showcased the Ampera-e, a European version of the Chevrolet Bolt. With a range of 500 kilometers on a single charge, the Ampera-e is one of the best electric vehicles yet to date. Also, the Ampera-e makes use of regenerative technology that Tesla cars also use. This is a technology that makes it possible to regenerate energy while running.

Looking at the cars and concepts presented at the Paris Motor show, we can conclude that big automotive players are serious about electric vehicles and that electric vehicles are the future. Tesla did not have serious competition until now but it seems like the time has come to face serious competition. We will have to wait to see how big automotive players will attack the well-established position of Tesla in the electric vehicle industry.

 

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Marktplaats and eBay, brace yourselves!

4

October

2016

5/5 (2)

Most of you have probably seen the ‘For sale’ pages on Facebook, where people offer and buy second hand items. Believe it or not, these pages are being visited 450 million times each month, so Facebook decided to respond to this demand. ‘Facebook Marketplace’ is a marketplace inside the Facebook app that launched yesterday in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand on mobile devices. In these countries, the ‘Messenger’ icon in the Facebook app will be replaced by the ‘Marketplace’ icon. If it proves to be a success, Facebook will continue to expand their marketplace to other countries and also to the web platform. Should eBay, Marktplaats and other large players brace itself?

Nowadays when people want to sell a second hand item, they do not just place it only on eBay or Marktplaats, they also share it on Facebook. Does Facebook offer more advantages than the existing platforms? There are several advantages to Facebook Marketplace that could make users choose for Facebook Marketplace instead of for example Marktplaats or eBay:

  • Buyers and sellers can easily communicate through the already existing Facebook Messenger.
  • Posting items for sale is free, which is not the case on other platforms for some product categories.
  • Fraud can be reduced, as buyers can check the profiles of the sellers to see whether they are ‘real’ people.
  • Facebook can show their users second hand items based on their interests because Facebook knows these.
  • While on eBay or Marktplaats people search for specific items, Facebook users might go through Marketplace simply because they’re bored and could find something they like (spontaneous shopping). This could increase the range of potential buyers.

Besides aforementioned advantages, Facebook has the advantage of a strong brand name and the large amount of users.  It’s hard to place any predictions about Facebooks new feature, but I believe that Facebook Marketplace has strong advantages and will therefore be a big threat for platforms such as eBay and Marktplaats. However, we will see what future will bring us.

 

Sources:

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/facebook-marketplace-sell-old-junk/

http://newsroom.fb.com/news/2016/10/introducing-marketplace-buy-and-sell-with-your-local-community/

https://www.iphoned.nl/nieuws/facebook-marketplace/

Facebook launches Marketplace, a friendlier Craigslist

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Technology Of The Week – Disruption of the accommodation industry

16

September

2016

5/5 (1)

Watch our video by clicking on this link.

During this project, we have examined how Airbnb and Booking.com disrupted the accommodation industry.

 

In 2005, large players such as Travelocity, Hotels.com (owned by Expedia) and Orbitz dominated the accommodation industry. They all had one thing in common: They focused on the merchant model.

 

Let’s take Hotels.com as an example to explain this model:

 

  • Hotels.com only lists hotels of which it rents rooms in bulk for low wholesale prices. Hotels.com pays for these rooms in advance.
  • When a user visits Hotels.com and books a room, the user pays Hotels.com with a markup of 20-30% of the wholesale price.

The main reason most online travel agencies use this model is that it enables them to combine accommodation in a complete travel package.

However, disadvantages are:

  • Hotels cannot control their own prices.
  • Large capital and paperwork is necessary when signing on a new hotel.

 

Booking.com disrupted the industry by swapping the popular merchant model by the agency model. When a user books, (s)he does not pay Booking.com. Instead, (s)he pays the hotel directly. Upon each reservation, Booking receives a commission from the hotel.

 

Advantages (compared to merchant):

 

  • Hotels are able to take back control on their own price, because the commission it needs to pay Booking.com is far less than the markup that a merchant charges.
  • com can increase its offering of accommodations without large investments or paperwork.

 

With the agency model, Booking.com broadened its scope. Next to offering large hotels and apartments, they were able to offer villa’s, B&B’s, hostels and pensions, each serving a niche market. So did Booking.com cover all niche markets?

 

AirBnb shows this is not the case. It makes use of a concept called “home-sharing”. People are able to list their properties for free on AirBnb’s digital platform.

 

An important aspect of this sharing economy is the review-system. Airbnb’s platform has relatively low entry barriers. This is why AirBnb uses a dual-review system on which both guests as the hosts can review each other. This review-system is critical to maintain the customer relationship with both parties.

 

The strengths of Booking.com and Airbnb are:

 

  • Both firms have very strong brand names.
  • They operate from a 24/7 digital platform.
  • They can expand their offering quickly without using much extra resources.

 

With regards to weaknesses, similarities are:

  • There is a strong power of buyers. Both platforms are very reliant on their users and in this digital age, switching costs are very low.
  • AirBnb has the weakness of having to deal with regulation issues. Regulations, about renting out homes for commercial use vary between cities.

 

We believe that the home-sharing market will keep growing. Despite the fact that Airbnb has a monopolistic position, it is always possible that another player (for instance Booking.com) enters the home-sharing market. Especially because of Booking.com’s size and brand name it could become a threat to Airbnb. Booking.com only needs minor changes in their technology to enter this market, which means Airbnb needs to stay alert.

 

IS Group 1

Anto Colic 375863
Sascha Oosterbaan 306190
Silvan de Graaf 382581
Eric Hartsema 356419

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