When the financial crisis hit in 2008 it was devastating to many industries, and perhaps none more than the automotive sector. Chrysler Corp and General Motors both declared bankruptcy. Chrysler Canada was subsequently acquired by FIAT to become FCA Canada and brought out of bankruptcy. 2008-09 had been a dark period for the entire economy but now, in 2010 things just might be changing and the outlook was brightening. Jack White had just moved back to Windsor to work for his new employer X-factor Advertising. He had extensive experience in the automotive sector and was headhunted for his strategic planning and marketing expertise. Just two weeks into his new job he was meeting with the FCA VP of Marketing, Paula Davies, and her heads of Product Planning, Marketing and Sales for a strategic discussion on sales growth opportunities for their Ram pickup truck brand. In their meeting Paula shared her conclusion that FCA's greatest opportunity for sales growth and profit would come from Ram pickup trucks. The company was forecasting sales growth for the overall auto market of 2% but growth in pickup trucks was expected to 5% per year for each of the next three years as business growth accelerated in the economic recovery. Ram's share of segment sales was consistently around 20%. Paula believed that Ram could grow to capture 30% or greater share of the segment. There was an all-new Ram pickup about to be launched in 2011 featuring significant improvements in performance, fuel economy and interior design. Paula and her team shared this information with Jack and asked him to develop a 3-year plan and strategy that would get Ram to 30% market share. Paul would like him to report back in a week. When he got back to his office Jack started to gather his thoughts on all information and insights he would need in order to develop what he would call the "Ram Growth Strategy." Here's what he found... Product Information The most compelling product information was the news about the all-new models that would be launching in January 2011. RAM has a great reputation when it came to engines as both the Hemi V8 and the Cummins Turbo Diesel engine were seen as first class in the segment. The Cummins engine gave RAM bragging rights to best-in-class towing and torque while the Hemi V8 was the most powerful engine offered in pickups. The other big news was the introduction of the all-new EcoDiesel engine that was expected to offer best-in-class fuel economy. In addition, RAM was emerging as the brand with the best interiors. In 2010 RAM was recognized by Ward's Automotive with their "10-Best Interiors Award." The award recognized the best interiors in all classes of vehicles including sports cars and luxury vehicles so this was a great accomplishment for RAM. GM had recently launched their new pickup in late 2009 but other than some styling changes, it didn't have that big an impact on the market. Ford would be launching their new pickup in 2012. Few details were currently available other than they would have some new, fuel efficient engines and more extensive use of aluminum to reduce weight and aid in improved fuel economy.

Sales Data The full-size pickup segment sales data showed the following:

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