Volvo YCC

Read the case on Volvo YCC (Your Concept Car) from the text book. 1) Which design elements of the Volvo YCC are most valuable to female consumers? How will male consumers respond to these design elements?

Volvo YCC is a concept car which was developed by all-female ‘think tank’ and focus on female consumers with criteria such as professional, independant woman desiring performance, style, practical and easy to maintain. Volvo YCC design elements are most valuable to female consumers are :-

Smart storage solution
The Volvo YCC has been designed in response to drivers who use the backseat more more often for groceries, gym bags and laptop computers than for passengers. The backseats are designed like movie theater seats so it fold upright until needed for passengers giving more space on the back floor for loading and unloading.

By moving the gear lever and handbrake, the center console is designed to have a shallow compartment for keys, mobile phones, and so forth with a sliding back compartment capable of storing a ourse ot of sight. With the specially custom center console, there is also a space for notebook computer, a ‘cool-box’ as well as wastepaper basket.

A car that is easy to get in and get out of Volvo YCC is designed with gull wing doors so that customers never has to climb over a dirty surface to get into the backseat. The car automatically goes to the high position when the door is opened for a more comfortable height for passengers entering and exiting.

Good visibility
For visibility and safety, the all-female ‘think tank’ team designed the exterior with a low front end and a long rear window so that all four corners of the car are visible to the driver. The fenders are within view and covered with a sturdy material.

An ‘Ergovision’ system at the dealership scans driver’s body and configure optimum driving position based on the data. The customer can aslo input additional data sets, but the car will notify the driver if the data sets creates a less-than-optimal line of vision.

A car that can be personalized
An ‘Ergovision’ system at the dealership scans driver’s body and store the data settings digitally on the key unit. When customer docks the key unit, the seat, steering wheel, pedals, head restraint and seat belt will be automatically move to the designated position. The car itself can change the ride height, ‘Hi’ for a commanding view of the road, or ‘Lo’ for a sporty low ride.

The interior appearance is customizable with eight interchangeable upholstery option ranging from leather, linen and wool bouclé and a shimmering embroided sest pad, all with matching carpeting. Consisten with Scandinavian tradition, the interior is light, open and uses materials associated with fine home interiors. It is washable too since it is interchangeable.

Minimal maintenance
Day-to-day car maintenance doesn’t require access under the hood of the car. The windshield washer fluid filler is located right beside teh gas filling point both with ball-valve fillers that eliminate the need for caps or latches. The car front lifts up so there is no bonnet or hood because only service technicians should need access to the engine.

When service is due, the car automatically notifies the service center and suggest appointment time.The car also carries its own diagnostic checks and informs the service center of what parts and materials will be required when the car arrives for service. A car that is easy to park

Parallel parking is two buttons clicks away. The first push of the parking assistance button determines if there is sufficient space between two cars to park. If the assistance reply ‘yes’, a second push steers the car into the space but leaves the driver in control of braking and accelarating.

How will male consumers respond to these design elements?
The statement ‘If you meet the expectations of women, you’ll exceed the expectation of men’, noting that 54% of American Volvo buyers are women. In other words, 46% American Volvo buyers are men with the current models. In conjunction with the Volvo YCC, they can concerntrate on the fast-growing group of women customers and at the same time without losing the men customers. As acknowledge by the statement, it is surely will be compelling to the men to have the Volvo YCC.

With the customize concept design, men will make a full use of it since the design is unisex, not totally dedicated to women only. These features is not just to assist the women, it also applicable in simplifying the task for men.

The interior design of the Volvo YCC is a balance between need for as much space as possible and the need to have all the important things within reach. The men can make a full use of this features by utilizing the space and store their man-stuffs.

The personalized driving position is something the men would enjoy since the position is customizable, regardless of height of the driver. The settings can be alterred according to the driver’s comfortability. The system will warn the driver if the line of vision is not accurate. Since it is customizable, the men will surely enjoy the feature of the car changing its height for a sporty low ride.

2) What other elements of consumer consumption of cars should be built into future models?

Pre-installed GPS device the vehicle
To pre-installed modern cars with GPS is very important nowadays as it helps most drivers cruising on the road with various route alternative on getting to the destination. GPS can help to find the shortest route, nearest petrol station, as well as other utilities stop. Accurate driving directions help in saving time in daily travel, but also will save petrol money when travelling from place to place. This is essential for drivers that often on outstation work.

Besides using GPS as a navigating tool, it also can be used as the vehicle tracking. GPS is capable to keep track of a vehicle. If happens to be the vehicle is stolen, GPS tracking is useful of locating the vehicle. On the other hand, to keep track of family member who’s using the vehicle, GPS tracking system will aid in the efforts.

Hybrid electrical vehicle
The consumer decision that most people make which vehicle impacts the environment is the hybrid electrical cars. Hybrid cars offer drivers innovative, effcient and affordable option as most automakers today are now following suit. Hybrid cars features a small fuel consumption engine combined with an electric motor that assist the engine when accelerating. Among the advantages of hybrid cars are :

periodic engine shut off – when hybrid car stopped in traffic, the engine is temporarily
switch off. It restarts automatically when put back into gear.
smaller engine – since it’s lightweight, it will increase the efficiency of the vehicle
regenerative braking – the electric motor that drives the hybrid can also slow the car.

In  this mode, the electric motor act as generator & charge the battery while the car is slowing down.

Customize portable baby seat
Since the concept car is based on women needs, it would be great if the automaker to produce a portable baby seat for family with infant. It will be a functional addition since the baby seat will fit nicely in the respective car without worrying if the seat is too big or too small if compared upon purchasing at retail outlet. Since it is made dedicated to the concept car, no additional buckle is needed since the it will be using the seatbelt
buckle that is already installed in the car. The seat cover is interchangeable to suit with the car interior. Having an infant could be tedious, therefore the seat cover is washable.

3) Using the consumer decision process (CDP) model, how would you recommend marketing the Volvo YCC?