Globalizing Volkswagen

 In 2001, Volkswagen was the market leader with their crafty automobiles being marketed all over the world.  Despite a troubled past, VW managed to find narrow market niches and create competitive advantages that led them to be the fourth highest auto-maker in the world in 2001.  Their biggest markets include Europe, Germany, North America, Asia, South America, and Africa.  They have sixty-five models of vehicles including some of the most prestigious brand names like Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, and Lamborghini.  Though they have experienced difficulty in the past, they have recently positioned themselves to be globally successful in the future.
 Ferdinand Piech, CEO of VW and Audi, has led his company to spark new innovations and has created new technology that differentiates his cars from the rest.  He organizes secret meetings and has his managers drive prototype cars so they can collaborate.  Piech discovered that in the past, his cars were too complex to mass produce, and therefore costly.  He decided to use a manufacturing scheme called "platforming to drive down costs."  Piech simply put the same base in most of his cars, then changed the body styles and focused more on the details to produce differentiated cars.  Consumers did not know the difference.
 Volkswagen has a great position geographically as well.  They have over twenty-five plants in seventeen different countries, and employ thousands of people.  With all the manufacturing, VW still manages to keep costs low.  They position their plants near suppliers to keep shipping down, and in Germany they worked with labor unions to introduce a new flexible production schedule.  Instead of stock ...