Development strategies for a new product in the automotive sector: The Jeep case

Today's environment is characterized by a sharp increase in the number of competing companies in most sectors, which are forced to innovate and develop new products in order to be the best. This is because the design of new products or processes allows companies to survive longer, to grow at the corporate level and above all to be able to compete with others. This thesis aims to highlight the role of innovation within the automotive sector and what possible strategies are possible for companies to adopt to facilitate the process of developing a new model. In particular, the analysis will focus on the trend of a specific segment, namely that of Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV). In Europe this segment is growing not only in the number of registrations, but also in the number of models offered by the different manufacturers. In particular, the strategy of the Fiat group, which following the merger with Chrysler has been able through the Jeep brand to increase its sales in the European market, taking advantage of the knowledge already present in the SUV market. The actual context is characterized by a strong increase of the competitor number in most sectors, which in order to be the best, are forced to innovate and develop new products. How the innovation affects the sale in term of increase or decrease and how the companies try to innovate in order to increase the sales This need comes from the fact that the development of new products or processes, allows the companies to survive longer, to grow and to compete with the others. The present thesis aims to highlight the role of innovation in the automotive sector and what are the possible strategies for companies to be adopted to facilitate the process of developing a new model. In particular, the analysis will focus on the performance of a specific segment, that is Sport Utility Vehicles. In Europe this segment is not only growing in terms of quantity of registrations, but also in the number of models offered by different manufacturers. At the end there is the strategy of Fiat Group which after the merger with Chrysler, has been able to increase its sales in the European market, thanks to the Jeep brand taking advantage of the knowledge already present in the SUV market. ??