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McKinsey Medium Profitability Growth Strategy

North Sun

#Electric Cars #Manufacturing #Energy #B2B Sales

North Sun, a Japanese leading manufacturer of electric passenger vehicles, has been struggling with a low market share in the B2B segment. North Sun enjoys strong positions in the B2C space, both …

CasesCoach Comment

This is an interviewer-driven revenue growth case focused on North Sun's B2B market penetration challenges. The case uses a sales funnel framework (4 stages from lead capture to contract conversion) and includes a quantitative math exercise on marketing event break-even analysis. The structured approach requires candidates to diagnose low market share causes, propose conversion rate improvements, and calculate customer acquisition economics.

Estimated Time 32 minutes
Difficulty Medium
Source PeterK
85 / 100
North Sun, a Japanese leading manufacturer of electric passenger vehicles, has been struggling with a low market share in the B2B segment. North Sun enjoys strong positions in the B2C space, both domestically and in the international market. However, North Sun’s sales to small and medium size businesses continue staying far below expectations. The CEO has invited you to help them out.

Clarifying Information

  1. North Sun accounts for 65% of all Japanese battery-electric vehicles sold
  2. Japanese cars capture 5% of pure electric vehicles sold worldwide
  3. The e-vehicle global market size is projected to grow from 4M units in 2021 to 35M units by 2030 (27% CAGR)
  4. Rental car firms, corporations and government agencies (e.g. police) are among major B2B client groups for electric cars
  5. North Sun’s model range of electric vehicles includes only passenger cars (not buses or trucks)
  6. There is no specific revenue goal
Mock Interview
Interviewer

North Sun, a Japanese leading manufacturer of electric passenger vehicles, has been struggling with a low market share in the B2B segment. North Sun enjoys strong positions in the B2C space, both domestically and in the international market. However, North Sun's sales to small and medium size businesses continue staying far below expectations. The CEO has invited you to help them out.

You

Thanks. Before analyzing, I'd like to clarify a few key questions...

Interviewer

Good question. Let me provide some background information...

You

Based on this, I suggest analyzing from these dimensions...

AI Score
Clarifying + Framework /5 Exhibits + Analysis /5 Brainstorm + Conclusion /5 Universal Skills /5
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AI Mock Interview

🤖 AI Summary: North Sun, a leading Japanese EV manufacturer with strong B2C presence, struggles with B2B market penetration despite operating in a rapidly growing market (27% CAGR). Candidates must identify root causes of low B2B market share, propose ideas to improve prospect-to-test-drive conversion rates, and determine the number of prospects needed to break even on a 1-day marketing event.

💡 Key Insights:

  1. Revenue growth cases require analyzing market dynamics, client positioning, and conversion efficiency across sales funnel stages
  2. B2B sales challenges often stem from weak distribution channels, inadequate salesforce quality, poor pricing strategy, and limited marketing to corporate decision-makers
  3. Quantitative analysis combines customer economics (pricing, margins) with conversion metrics to determine business case viability
  4. Structured brainstorming with 7-8 ideas across logical categories (marketing, pricing, distribution, value proposition) demonstrates superior problem-solving
  5. Context and industry knowledge (e.g., charging infrastructure impact, fleet manager pain points) elevate analysis quality

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