Tesla - Sample Brief - Grade: HD PDF

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TESLA&–&AUSTRALIAN&LAUNCH&OF&SOLAR&TILES&&&POWERWALL&

MARKET&RESEARCH&BRIEF&

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Introduction The!energy!industry!in!Australia!has!received!a!large!amount!of!media!coverage!over!the! last!2-3!years!as!energy!prices!and!the!debate!over!renewables!has!increased.!The!debate! has!mainly!been!centered!around!rising!household!energy!prices,!extending!Australia’s! renewable!energy!target!and!threats!to!the!fossil!fuel!export!market!(Pears,! 2017).!!Australia’s!solar!industry!is!expected!to!grow!over!the!next!5!years!as!energy!prices! continue!to!rise!across!the!country!and!the!cost!of!household!solar!decreases,!making!it! more!cost!effective!to!install!solar!power!(IBISWorld,!2016).! As!an!innovator!in!the!renewable!industry,!Tesla!has!announced!a!new!product!designed!to!

replace!solar!panels.!Tesla’s!Solar!Tiles!are!roof!tiles!with!built!in!solar!technology,! eliminating!the!need!for!large!solar!panels.!Combining!this!with!the!Powerwall,!Tesla’s!home! battery!product,!consumers!can!generate!and!store!their!own!electricity!(Tesla,!2017).!The! solar!tiles!are!designed!to!be!unobtrusive!and!actually!part!of!the!design!of!a!house,!as! opposed!to!large!solar!panels.!The!tiles!would!cover!the!entire!roof,!and!since!consumers! don’t!need!to!‘hide’!the!large!panels!on!one!side!of!the!house!that!can’t!be!seen!it!allows!for! greater!coverage.!After!successful!launches!of!these!products!in!the!USA,!Tesla!is!expanding! into!new!markets!and!early!indications!show!that!Australia!is!a!key!market!for!household! solar!energy!and!storage.!!

Background Background&& Solar!installation!in!Australian!households!has!been!quite!slow!over!the!last!5!to!10!years! and!government!subsidies!are!now!being!cut!back.!This!means!that!household!solar!will! have!to!compete!with!electricity!providers!directly!purely!on!cost!efficiency.!The! introduction!of!household!battery!storage!means!that!consumers!are!able!to!store! electricity!provided!through!their!solar!panels,!significantly!reducing!costs!and!even!allowing! some!households!to!be!completely!off!the!retail!energy!grid!(Potter,!2016).! Consumers’!have!typically!viewed!solar!panels!as!a!way!to!offset!rising!electricity!prices,!so! households!are!likely!to!make!decisions!on!solar!installation!based!around!relative!energy! prices!(IBISWorld,!2016).!As!Australia’s!energy!prices!increase,!this!creates!an!opportunity!in! the!solar!market!as!prices!become!closer!to!other!forms!of!electricity,!and!Tesla!is!ready!to! capitalise!with!new!roof!tile!designs!and!an!innovative!home!power!storage!solution.!The! design!of!Tesla’s!solar!roof!tiles!is!unlike!other!traditional!solar!panels!and!eliminates!any! concerns!consumers!may!have!about!the!look!of!their!house!once!installed.!

Purpose&of&the&Research As!a!global!company,!Tesla!operates!in!many!countries!and!have!already!installed!Solar!Tiles! and!Powerpacks!in!many!homes!in!the!US.!Tesla!is!now!looking!at!Australia!as!one!of!the!key! solar!markets!that!it!can!tap!into!(Vorrath,!2017),!and!is!aiming!to!launch!the!Solar!Tiles!and! Powerpack!products!in!2017.!In!a!market!where!government!subsidies!for!solar!panels!are! being!cut!back,!Tesla!needs!to!be!certain!that!Australian!consumers’!will!embrace!the! product!and!that!there!is!sufficient!demand!for!it!within!Australian!households.!

The!key!issues!that!this!research!needs!to!address!include!how!Australian!consumers!feel! about!current!energy!prices,!whether!they!have!a!strong!preference!towards!renewable! energy!sources!(particularly!solar)!and!which!factors!would!most!likely!determine!whether! or!not!they!install!solar!power.!From!a!product!launch!and!marketing!perspective,!it!is! crucial!to!know!whether!price!benefits!alone!are!the!main!determinant!for!installing!solar,! or!whether!the!design!of!the!solar!panels!(or!tiles)!and!how!they!look!on!a!house!plays!an! equally!important!role.!!

Objecti Objectives ves Business&Objectives: •

To!determine!whether!Tesla!Solar!Tiles!and!Powerpack!products!should!be!launched! into!the!Australian!market.!!

Research&Objectives: • • •

To!measure!consumer!attitudes!towards!current!energy!suppliers!and!prices.! To!measure!consumer!preferences!for!renewable!energy!solutions!in!general,!as!well! for!solar!power!specifically.! To!determine!whether!price!or!design!has!a!larger!influence!on!purchase!intentions! for!household!solar!power.!!

The!first!two!research!objectives!listed!above!deal!with!consumer!attitudes!and! preferences,!therefore!Tesla!requires!qualitative!data!to!gauge!whether!these!attitudes!are! in!line!with!Tesla’s!product!offering.!This!should!be!in!the!form!of!focus!groups!and! telephone interviews across different cities in Australia, as well as in rural areas....