A major electromobility player aims to enter the local electric car market with an innovative rental system. We conducted a comprehensive market study and competition analysis. Based on the findings, we developed the first version of the service, ready for a market test.
Entering the Market with a New Product
A European company wants to enter the local electric mobility market with a modern electric car rental platform. But is there a demand for it in this country?
The company had certain business assumptions and wanted to be 100% sure they were right. They wanted to know:
- What do the country’s residents think about electric cars?
- What is their level of knowledge about electric mobility?
- What are the requirements of potential platform customers – both for the vehicles and the system itself?
The company was looking for a partner to conduct a comprehensive market study and design an initial version of the system. This would allow the company to go into the world and test its business assumptions.
We were selected for this task thanks to our expertise in customer development and automotive projects. Our team includes specialists who have previously held managerial roles in major consulting firms, bringing a wealth of experience and industry know-how to the project.
I: Market Research
We started the project with a market study, conducting a thousand interviews with potential users. We developed survey questions with the client focused on sales and user needs.
The key takeaway? What we’re doing makes sense—there’s a market demand for this kind of system, and the local electric mobility market is highly receptive.
Other findings concerned users’ expectations for the car rental process and post-sales service. We found out whether they prefer to buy online or offline and how they’d like to communicate with a consultant. We learned what functionalities they expect from the platform and how they’d like it designed.
We presented all these findings to the management and used them in the following steps to develop the product concept.
II: Competition Analysis
We focused on the top 20 players in the electric mobility sector from four key markets, including our clients’ home market. For each service, we conducted two kinds of analysis: a marketing-business-sales perspective and a technological viewpoint.
We focused on understanding their business models, data structures, and system functionalities. Our analysis aimed to grasp the industry’s current state and pinpoint unique platform features (USPs) that we could integrate into our product.
We then highlighted the insights from this analysis in a presentation and used these findings to shape the MVP’s architecture.
III: MVP Architecture
In the third phase, we developed the MVP’s IT architecture, focusing on insights from our research. We included about 50% of the gathered data, which we identified as crucial for testing the system.
Due to the size of our client’s company and the significance of the project, we paid special attention to security and developed solutions to protect against cyberattacks.
We divided the architecture into two parts: one for the MVP (for market testing) and one for the final, targeted solution.
In designing the architecture, we used AWS Pinpoint and other AWS cloud tools to organize omnichannel communication. Our goal was to ensure a consistent user experience across all channels, whether through infotainment in the car, the website, the mobile app, or the chatbot.
IV: Prototype and Testing with Potential Customers
Then, we created a service prototype and presented it to potential clients.
After the first round of feedback, we improved it and showcased it to the same group again. We developed a UX that met the research-derived criteria and was approved by the research group.
This phase marked the first real-life application of our theoretical research. It helped us define the platform’s main direction and the impression we wanted the website and associated purchasing platforms to make.
The key takeaway was that the experience should be unique and luxurious. Electric car customers expect a purchasing experience akin to Tesla’s, not just another typical online car shop.
We ensured each car model was showcased in detail, with 360-degree materials and comprehensive information, offering a high level of personalization in terms of car specifications and financing options.
During this stage, we also developed an admin panel for company employees and various end-users.
V: Business Analysis
In the fifth stage, we developed key business cases involving detailed costs, revenues, and profits analyses.
For instance, how many cars and for what period does a company need to rent to make the system profitable? We considered various scenarios, including risks such as subscription payment defaults.
The goal of this stage was to help the client understand how to organize logistics and business processes to launch sales and test the MVP concept.
The business case gave us a first look at whether the project could make money and what we needed to do to make it happen, like handling logistics and managing risks.
VI: Time for the Real Test!
In less than three months, we created the first version of the portal, which was ready for market launch. It fulfills three primary objectives:
- Educates users about electric mobility.
- Encourages the purchase of electric cars in general.
- Facilitates car rental, guiding the user through choosing a model or specific car, financing, and contacting a sales consultant to complete the sales process.
The MVP aims to verify the market in terms of actual interest in subscription and system usability for real users. A 6-month pilot will soon begin, during which we will be responsible for maintaining and developing the service.
What happens next? We’re eagerly waiting to find out!
