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Automotive giants talk up green plans

admin — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:50:02 +0000

Car makers Ford, GM and Daimler have unveiled new green models and promise plenty more to come

The race to dominate the burgeoning market for environmentally friendly vehicles stepped up a notch this week as Ford, General Motors and Daimler all unveiled new green strategies.

Speaking at the LA Auto Show, Ford president and CEO Alan Mulally announced a major new blueprint for sustainability that will commit the company to rolling out a raft of green technologies “that will provide customers more fuel-efficient vehicles that emit fewer greenhouse gases without compromising their expectations for safety, interior room or performance”.

The company said that in the near term it will offer turbo-charged, direct-injection petrol engines in higher volumes across its lighter vehicles, which it claims will improve fuel efficiency by between 10 and 20 per cent.[...]

Full story – Source : businessgreen.com

Are you targeting the correct green consumers ?

admin — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:48:00 +0000

Traditional means of marketing by demographics simply will not work for green consumers, you need to be able to identify how they behave…

Why do you market your company as ethical ? Do you do it because you have to, or because you want to
?

Some companies might do it as a form of self-preservation, because they are afraid of what customers will say if they don’t. Other, more progressive firms may do it because they realise that there is an opportunity to target customers who feel strongly about the issue.

In the UK, the Co-Operative Bank’s 2007 Ethical Consumerism report, published in November, showed that ethical spending in the UK had jumped by 81 per cent since 2002. At £29.7bn, the market is still relatively small compared to the annual consumer spend of over £600bn, but that presumably means that there is plenty more headroom for market growth. Meanwhile in the US, the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), a market research firm that focuses exclusively on this area, classifies the whole target market under the banner of lifestyles of health and sustainability (LOHAS) – the sector is worth $209bn on that side of the pond.

Who is buying these ethical products and services, and how can companies reach these customers effectively? Trying to pigeonhole the green consumer by pointing to a single demographic was probably naive 20 years ago. Today, it would be extremely foolish.[...]

Toll Discounts for Going Green

admin — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:38:51 +0000

CAR companies advertise how hybrid cars get great mileage. They could also add tolls to the list of savings.

A small but growing number of toll agencies around the world are giving discounts to owners of some alternative-power vehicles. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced last November that it would offer a $2 E-ZPass discount to the owners of three hybrid models, following the example of the New York State Thruway Authority, which introduced 10 percent E-ZPass discounts on those cars in 2006.

Under both plans, owners of vehicles that get 45 miles a gallon on the highway and meet low emission standards can receive the discounts. The only vehicles that qualify are the Toyota Prius, the Honda Civic Hybrid and the Honda Insight models from 2000 to 2004 — only because later versions of the Insight don’t meet the emission standards.

Existing E-ZPass customers who have an account with either agency can apply for the discount by mail by including a copy of their registration. Owners who qualify will receive a green E-ZPass transponder.[...]