2021 Nissan Rogue v. 2020 Toyota RAV4

The Toyota Rav4 is among the flagship models in the crossover range of cars. In this range of cars, the Nissan Rogue has been the third most popular model in the country, ranking just behind the Rav4 and the Honda CRV. For this reason, the Rav4 greatly outsold the Nissan Rogue in the US market; the following data is available for the 2019 total sales and for the first quarter of 2020.

Year	Nissan Rogue	Toyota RAV4
2019	350,447	448,068
2020 Q1	59,717	97,631
Total sales	410,164	545,699

SPECIFIC ATTRIBUTES OF THE VEHICLES

The biggest competitor to the Nissan Rogue in terms of sales units in the past 1.5 years is the Toyota RAV4. From the Car Connection reviews provided by (Cole), the 2020 Toyota RAV4 features three models – the Adventure, Hybrid LE and Hybrid Limited. All these trims are all-wheel drive (AWD) vehicles, with the hybrid models being highly fuel-efficient, having a fuel consumption of 41 city/38 highway MPG. The vehicle cranks a total of 203 horsepower on its 8-speed automatic. Other outstanding features on the 2020 RAV4 are 17-inch alloy wheels, a power-adjustable driver seat, heated seats and safety add-ons, keyless ignition, five USB chargers, and a 7.0 touch screen (Cole).

The 2021 Nissan Rogue features a 2.5 liter, 4-cylinder, 188 horsepower engine and also has a hybrid model. It has a 9.0-inch touchscreen. This is an upgrade to the seemingly sluggishly responding to accelerating from standstill 2020 automatic transmission rogue. It offers a spacious cabin and cargo area with multiple advanced standard safety aids (Capparella).

GENERAL PRICING

CAR	Starting price ($)
Nissan Rogue	26,000 – 36,000
Toyota RAV4	27,070 – 36,400

ONLINE REVIEWS

For the 2020 RAV4, Car Connection finds the hybrid models to have spectacular fuel efficiency, good cargo space, and excellent exteriors. Car and Driver reviews gave it an 8/10 score for the plenty of standard safety, rugged styling, and spacious cabin, though it has mundane driving dynamics and engine noises. US News Cars rated it at 8.1/10, with safety and fuel efficiency topping its pros and only a 60% reliability score. Top Gear rates the RAV4 at 7/10 for its fuel economy, space, and comfort but acknowledges the downsides of poor infotainment, engine noises, and lack of phone mirroring. Lastly, Edmunds gives it a rating of 7.7/10, noting its easy controls to use but has lackluster power from the base powertrain and discomfort in the front passenger seat.

The 2021 Nissan Rogue, on the other hand, has a large infotainment screen powered by the most advanced Nissan technology, and its large grille, as observed by Edmund, makes it a highly competitive SUV. Car and Driver also observe that this vehicle has modern interior tech and excellent acceleration performance and driving mechanics. Motor 1’s reviews hold that the improvement in the engine horsepower from the outgoing model makes the 2021 version the most competitive of its series in the SUV market (Alaniz).

POSITIONING STATEMENT FOR 2020 RAV4

The Toyota RAV4’s positioning statement is drafted using the identified relevant features. The RAV4 will appeal to drivers between the ages of 35-49 years old who are loyal to other brands and are looking to switch; head of young families who place a high priority on comfort, durability and reliability, the RAV4 is the compact crossover offering superior quality, great fuel economy, reduced CO2 emissions, and illustrious design given its legacy, brand support, extra cabin and cargo room and comfort to fulfill the expectations of modern drivers.

Marketing efforts by RAV 4

Toyota has been using a highly targeted digital campaign to market its RAV4 by employing machine learning tools to generate online ads. These ads are then fed to users on social media sites, such as Facebook, who have exhibited interest in SUVs. The company’s RAVtivity machine combines customers’ Facebook behavioral data with artificial intelligence-created activities to offer them personalized and hyper-relevant content suitable to their interests (Schultz). It also featured prominently in the NFL Super Bowl marketing section of the game. The 2021 Nissan Rogue, on the other hand, released an early sneak peek of the redesign of its predecessor to the internet to keep the buyers anticipating for the actual release.

Works Cited

Alaniz, Anthony. 2021 Nissan Rogue getting slight power bump: Report. 1 May 2020. 31 May 2020. <https://www.motor1.com/news/419545/2021-nissan-rogue-engine-specs/>.

Capparella, Joey. New 2021 Nissan Rogue leaks early, will go on sale later this year. 17 April 2020. Online. 31 May 2020. <https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a32176028/nissan-rogue-confirmed-2021/>.

Cole, Aaron. 2020 Toyota RAV 4. 8 April 2020. 31 May 2020. <https://www.thecarconnection.com/overview/toyota_rav4_2020>.

Schultz, E.J. “How Toyota used artificial intelligence for RAV4 campaign.” AdAge 19 January 2019. <https://adage.com/article/digital/toyota-artificial-intelligence-rav4-campaign/307544>.

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Question

2021 Nissan Rogue v. 2020 Toyota RAV4

Learning Exercise: Brand/Competitive Analysis

The Marketing Plan assignment includes a competitive analysis (CA). Ultimately, the goal is to develop a sound plan to promote the 2021 Nissan Rogue. To do that, your team must have a full understanding of the product, the target market, and the competition.

As defined by Nissan, the top competitors for the 2021 Nissan Rogue are the Toyota RAV4, Chevrolet Equinox, Honda CR-V, and the Subaru Forester. This is a competitive automotive segment. For this project, you may restrict yourselves to these four competitive vehicles.

Do the following in your Marketing Plan Project teams. Teams have 5 members and there are 5 compact CUV/SUVs to analyze which should make it easy to distribute the workload (each team member completes the CA for one vehicle).

NOTE: If multiple trims are offered, focus on the model (most recent year – 2020 or 2021 if available) that your team believes is best matched with the Rogue in terms of engine performance, pricing, and style.

For each competitor named above, provide the following:

a. Annual unit sales (for 2019 and 2020 year-to-date) – report ONLY the total unit sales for the last 1.5 years – that is, just two figures per vehicle – do NOT include additional data/tables. 2019 unit sales figure are available at: GoodCarBadCar. Teams must search for 2020 year-to-date unit sales figures.
b. a complete list of specific attributes/features for each vehicle
c. general pricing (starting and “fully loaded” prices): you only need to present the range (low – high), not every price for every model/trim
2021 Nissan Rogue v. 2020 Toyota RAV4
d. online reviews from credible sources (e.g., Consumer Reports, automotive magazines, safety test reports, Edmunds.com, Kelley Blue Book, JD Powers). Summarize these in your own words (complete sentences) – do NOT merely list a series of long quotes. This should be a thorough search of all major review sites, but at least 5 expert review sources per vehicle are expected/required.
e. positioning statement (PS) for each competitive vehicle (see LM 3 Lecture Notes and hints on the last page of this document). Do not draft a PS for the Rogue at this time.
f. marketing/promotional efforts by those manufacturers [e.g., ad themes (e.g., describe TV and online ads in detail), ad taglines/slogans (e.g., VW used “Drivers Wanted” in the past), social media efforts (what are these vehicles doing on Facebook, YouTube, etc. to promote their vehicle?), online buzz, blog conversations]. This part of the analysis is important and will take time to do well. The goal is to assess all efforts being used by the competitors to market and promote their vehicles. Do NOT include marketing efforts by local/regional dealers that are strictly price-based (e.g., end-of-year sales events, discounts offered by dealers). Your focus is on national efforts and campaigns for the competitive set that are attribute/benefit/image focused. As you draft this section, note that complete sentences are required.
g. Other useful information [If you find other info that offers insight into how these vehicles compare, briefly mention it here.]

* Focus on features/attributes that are most important and most distinctive, but present a complete list of attributes. Do not merely copy/paste a long list of attributes from manufacturer websites. Reword and organize them in a way that facilitates comprehension.

Notes:

Just do Part Number 1
The rest is general information and other work.. I was assigned to do the Toyota RAV4. It should be like a business report not an essay. May include bullet points if necessary and focus more on the gas engine instead of the electric hybrid.