This article describes the methodology and the results of a study carried out to identify the determinants of competitiveness of the most important compact automotive vehicles produced by the four major car manufacturers operating in Brazil: Fiat, Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen. The methodology chosen was the one suggested by the Fields and Weapons of the Competition model, because it is both qualitative and quantitative, and because it provides a very clear representation of the competitive business and operational strategies of companies. The results validated the hypotheses formulated, and it is possible to conclude that: 1) there is no statistically significant difference between the fields of competition chosen for the more competitive automotive vehicles and the ones chosen for the less competitive, since they all compete primarily on design, quality and price of product; 2) the focus ( the mathematical variable that measures the alignment of the weapons of the competition to the fields of competition chosen for each vehicle) explains why one automotive vehicle is more competitive in relation to the other.
Competitiveness; Competitive strategy; Fields and weapons of the competition; Automotive industry
