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Business Intelligence and Competitive Analysis of Tesla, Toyota, and Ford in the EV Market
This paper is a process analysis research project at the PhD level in the field of accounting, formatted in APA style. It examines how business intelligence and competitive analysis methods can be applied to assess Tesla, Toyota, and Ford in the electric vehicle market. The study reviews financial performance, R&D spending, and EV adoption trends, presenting findings through statistical analysis, data visualization, and forecasting models. The work concludes with strategic recommendations for each firm, highlighting the role of data-driven decision-making in shaping competitiveness in the automotive industry.
* The sample essays are for browsing purposes only and are not to be submitted as original work to avoid issues with plagiarism.
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Business Intelligence and Competitive Analysis of Tesla, Toyota, and Ford in the EV
Market
Student Name
Institution
Course
Professor Name
Date
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1. Executive Summary
This report is a comparative market and competitive intelligence analysis of three leading
automobile firms: Tesla, Toyota, and Ford. The analysis integrates financial performance,
research and development (R&D) expenditures, and electric vehicle (EV) market positioning to
determine the strategic direction and competitive edge of each firm. Data were compiled from
publicly available information, including Statista and company reports, and analyzed using
descriptive statistics, visualization techniques, and trend comparison.
The findings lead to several key observations. First, Tesla continues to show extremely
rapid revenue growth, thanks to its dominant share of the global EV market (12.8% in 2024).
Although its revenues remain below those of Toyota and Ford, Tesla invests heavily in R&D
relative to its size, reflecting an aggressive innovation-driven growth strategy (Micucci, 2025).
Toyota, on the other hand, has the greatest total revenue and still manages to balance traditional
auto sales with accelerating EV investments, positioning itself for long-term feasibility. Ford
remains a robust competitor with steady revenues but exhibits comparatively lower EV market
share, which may be difficult with an ever-electrified market.
Recommendations on the basis of this analysis are tri-fold. To maintain its position as the
leader in EVs, Tesla should concentrate on large-scale production and operational risk
management. Toyota needs to move faster into EVs and use its robust financial position to gain a
bigger market share in this segment. Tesla must focus on producing massive volumes and
managing operational risks to maintain its position as the leading electric vehicle manufacturer
(Lu et al., 2025). Toyota must not only speed up its EV transition but also leverage its robust
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financial resources to increase its market share in the EV market. It is advisable for Toyota to
hasten the process of switching to electric cars in order to emerge as a market leader in EVs.
Ford, however, has more opportunities to invest in the area of research and development, as well
as partner with other industry players to establish EV technology.
4
2. Introduction
Business Intelligence (BI) is increasingly becoming vital to companies because it allows
them to make smart and data-driven decisions (Rane et al., 2024). BI helps to convert raw data
into informative data that can help firms predict market trends, optimize their operations, and
gain a competitive edge. Market and competitive intelligence are key components of BI, which
include the systematic gathering and analysis of external data about competitors, customer needs,
and market trends (Ahmad, 2025). Strategic planning, resource allocation, and innovation
management all rely on this information. The aim of this report is to carry out a comparative
analysis of Tesla, Toyota, and Ford through the use of BI tools and analytics. The analysis is
based on financial performance, investment in R&D, and market presence of the EV to assess the
competitive position of each firm. The major research questions that will be used in this study
are:
1. How do revenue trends and R&D investments differ across Tesla, Toyota, and Ford?
2. What is the current market share and EV adoption rate of each company, particularly in the
U.S. EV sector?
3. How do innovation strategies, reflected in R&D spending, correlate with financial growth
and market penetration?
4. What insights can BI provide for future strategic decision-making in automotive
electrification?
The responses to these questions illustrate how this report shows how BI and analytics
contribute to evidence-based decision-making, strategic planning, and sustainable competitive
advantage in the automotive industry.
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3. Data Collection
Data used in this analysis were obtained from a number of authoritative and public
sources, including firm financial statements (Tesla, Toyota, Ford), Statista, Yahoo Finance, and
handpicked Kaggle datasets. They provide financial performance metrics, EV market data, and
industry metrics that ensure credibility and relevance. The variables collected include:
•Revenue (annual, 2018–2024) to assess overall financial performance.
•Sales volume to evaluate market reach and consumer demand.
•R&D spending indicates innovation investment.
•Market share in the overall automotive and EV segments.
•Pricing trends across key models.
•EV adop<on rates to measure transition toward electrification.
•Customer sen<ment (qualitative or survey-based) when available.
Challenges with data acquisition were the unfinished data on EV adoption in certain
areas, multiple discrepancies in the financial year reporting of various companies, and
discrepancies in fragmented customer sentiment indicators. Standardization was also used to
address the currency differences (JPY in the case of Toyota). Nevertheless, the data obtained
were adequate to accomplish some comparative analysis. Below is a summary overview of the
dataset;
Variable
Source(s)
Notes/Challenges
Revenue
Company Reports, Yahoo Finance
Standardized to USD for comparability
Sales Volume
Company Reports, Statista
Missing regional EV data estimated
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Table 5: Dataset Overview
4. Data Preprocessing
Data preprocessing was conducted to ensure that the datasets were clean, consistent, and
suitable for analysis.
4.1 Handling Missing Values
•Missing EV sales volumes were estimated using available market share percentages and
total industry sales.
•Incomplete customer sentiment data were retained as qualitative notes for context.
4.2 Normalization and Scaling
•Financial data from Toyota (JPY) were converted to USD using average annual exchange
rates.
•Revenue, R&D spending, and sales volumes were scaled to billions of USD or
normalized percentages to allow cross-company comparisons.
R&D Spending
Company Reports, Macrotrends
Converted to billions USD; EV-
specific portion estimated
Market Share
Statista, CleanTechnica
EV segment data for the U.S. only
Pricing Trends
Statista, Company Websites
Limited to key models
EV Adoption
Statista, InsideEVs
Missing values estimated using market
share
C u s t o m e r
Sentiment
Statista, surveys
Qualitative; not all years available
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4.3 Outlier Detection
•Revenue and sales trends were reviewed for anomalies. No significant outliers were
detected.
•EV adoption estimates were cross-verified across multiple sources to ensure consistency.
4.4 Data Transformation
•Percentage changes were calculated for year-over-year revenue and R&D spending.
•Market share and EV adoption rates were expressed as percentages for comparability.
4.5 Tools Used
•Excel for data cleaning, transformation, and initial visualization.
•Power BI and Tableau for dashboards and interactive charts.
•Python (Pandas, Matplotlib, Seaborn) for advanced calculations, normalization, and
plotting trends.
These steps of preprocessing were necessary to make sure that the datasets were precise,
standardized, and prepared to be meaningfully visualized and analyzed, and would be the basis
of assessing the competitive position of Tesla, Toyota, and Ford.
5. Data Analysis
This section analyzes the performance and competitive positioning of Tesla, Toyota, and
Ford using descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics, based on the processed datasets.
5.1 Descriptive Analytics
Revenue Trends (2018–2024):
•Tesla's revenue increased from $21.5 billion in 2018 to $108.0 billion in 2024, reflecting
an average annual growth rate of ~35%.
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•Toyota maintained the highest revenue ($285B in 2024) with stable growth but slower
momentum.
•Ford experienced moderate recovery post-2020, reaching $182.0 billion in 2024 after a
dip in 2020 ($127.1 127.1billion), indicating resilience but slower expansion.
Sales and Market Share Trends:
•Tesla dominates the global BEV market, with sales rising to approximately 1.95 million
units in 2024, compared to 80,000 units for Ford and 60,000 units for Toyota.
•Globally, Tesla's BEV market share declined from 17.2% in 2018 to 12.8% in 2024,
reflecting rising competition despite strong absolute growth.
•These figures highlight Tesla's leadership in electrification and the relatively limited EV
penetration of Ford and Toyota in the global BEV market.
Comparison of R&D Investments:
•Tesla increased R&D from $1.46B in 2018 to $4.20B in 2024, showing a strong focus on
innovation.
•Toyota and Ford invested steadily but with lower relative increases in R&D, suggesting a
slower pivot to EV technology.
5.2 Predictive Analytics
EV Market Growth Forecast:
•Using linear trend projections, the global EV market is expected to grow by 11% by
2030.
•Tesla's market share is projected to remain above 40% unless legacy automakers
accelerate EV adoption.
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Revenue Projections:
•Regression analysis of revenue vs. R&D spending indicates a strong positive correlation
for Tesla (r ≈ 0.92), suggesting innovation directly contributes to growth.
•If Toyota and Ford increase EV-focused R&D at Tesla-like rates, they could significantly
expand EV sales and revenue over the next five years.
5.3 Prescriptive Analytics
Based on the analysis:
1. Tesla should continue scaling production and expanding EV offerings while investing in
supply chain resilience.
2. Toyota should accelerate EV adoption and increase R&D to remain competitive in
electrification.
3. Ford should prioritize R&D in battery technology and EV models to capture growing
market opportunities.
Techniques Applied:
•Correlation to link R&D spending with revenue growth.
•Linear regression for revenue and market share forecasting.
•Trend analysis for EV adoption and market share.
•Scenario analysis to evaluate the impact of increased R&D investments on future
competitiveness.
6. Data Visualization
To communicate findings effectively, six key charts and tables were created:
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1. Market Share Trends (Line Chart)
Below is a line chart comparing Tesla, Toyota, and Ford's BEV market shares from 2018
to 2024.
Figure 1. BEV Market Share Trends (2018–2024)
Tesla has consistently held the largest share of the global BEV market, though its
dominance has declined from 17.2% in 2018 to an estimated 12.8% in 2024. This reflects
increasing competition as more automakers enter the EV segment. In contrast, Toyota and Ford
have shown only marginal growth in BEV market share, underscoring their slower transition to
fully electric vehicles. Despite the decline, Tesla's early-mover advantage and strong brand
presence continue to position it as the leader in the global EV market.
2. Revenue Comparison (Bar Chart)
Below is a vertical bar chart comparing annual revenue across the three companies
(2018–2024).
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Figure 2. Annual Revenue Comparison (2018–2024)
While Toyota consistently reports the highest total revenue, Tesla shows the steepest
growth trajectory, rising from $21.5B in 2018 to $108B in 2024. Ford's revenue declined sharply
in 2020 to $127B, but has since recovered to $182B in 2024, surpassing its 2018 level. Tesla's
rapid financial growth underscores the scalability of its EV-focused business model.
3. EV Adoption Rates (Stacked Bar/Area Chart)
Below is a stacked bar chart showing EV units sold per company and their contribution to
the total EV market.
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Figure 3. EV Adoption Rates (Stacked Bar/Area Chart)
The chart highlights Tesla's dominant role in global BEV adoption, with sales surging
from ~245k in 2018 to nearly 2 million projected in 2024. Toyota and Ford entered later and
contributed smaller shares, though both show steady growth post-2020. Tesla's early lead
underscores first-mover advantage, while Toyota and Ford's gradual increases suggest they are
still catching up in EV adoption.
4. R&D Spending vs. Innovation Output (Scatter Plot)
Below is a Scatter plot with R&D expenditure on the x-axis and revenue growth on the y-
axis.
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Figure 4. R&D Spending vs. Innovation Output (Scatter Plot)
Tesla's EV sales volume far exceeds that of Toyota and Ford, with over 2 million units
sold in 2024 alone. Toyota's minimal EV sales reflect its continued focus on hybrids, while
Ford's growth is limited despite the launch of the F-150 Lightning. The widening sales gap
emphasizes the urgency for legacy automakers to scale EV production.
5. Customer Sentiment Comparison
Below is a text-based sentiment score (e.g., from surveys or social media) visualized as a
bar chart.
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Figure 5. Customer Sentiment Comparison (2024)
Tesla receives the most positive sentiment online, driven by brand loyalty and perceived
innovation. Toyota is viewed as reliable but less exciting, while Ford's sentiment is mixed due to
concerns about EV range and charging infrastructure. Positive sentiment gives Tesla a marketing
and retention advantage.
6. Forecast Results (Trendline / Predictive Model Chart)
Below is a line chart projecting future revenue and EV market share (2025–2030) based
on linear regression.
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Figure 6: Forecasted Revenue Growth (2018–2030
Figure 7: Forecasted BEV Market Share (2018–2030)
If current trends continue, Tesla's global BEV market share is projected to stabilize
around 10–11% by 2030, down from its 2020 peak, as competitors slowly expand production.
Toyota and Ford remain below 1% without significant EV scaling. However, scenario analysis
suggests that with aggressive R&D and dedicated BEV model launches, legacy automakers could
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collectively capture 15–20% of the BEV market by 2030. A proactive strategy is therefore
essential to avoid long-term marginalization in the EV transition.
Table 6: Summary of Visualizations
These visualizations allow stakeholders to quickly grasp trends, benchmark company
performance, and identify opportunities in EV market expansion, R&D prioritization, and
competitive strategy.
Chart Type
Variables
Key Insight
Line Chart
BEV market share
(2018–2024)
Tesla leads but declines (17.2% → 12.8%);
Toyota & Ford remain minimal.
Bar Chart
Revenue (2018–2024)
Toyota is the highest overall; Tesla has the fastest
growth ($21.5B → $108B); Ford dips in 2020,
then recovers ($182B).
Stacked Bar /
Area Chart
BEV units sold (2018–
2024)
Tesla dominates (~1.95M by 2024); Toyota &
Ford grow modestly post-2020.
Scatter Plot
R&D vs revenue (2018–
2024)
Tesla shows strong R&D–revenue link; Toyota &
Ford weaker returns.
Bar Chart
Sentiment scores (2024)
Tesla is the most positive, Toyota is reliable but
less innovative, and Ford is mixed.
Line Chart
(Trendlines)
Revenue & BEV share
(2025–2030)
Tesla revenue >$150B; share ~10–11%; Toyota
& Ford <1% unless EV scale-up.
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7. Key Findings & Discussion
The analysis of Tesla, Toyota, and Ford using business intelligence (BI) tools revealed
several key insights regarding competitive positioning, market trends, and innovation strategies:
7.1 Revenue and Growth Trends
•Tesla has demonstrated rapid revenue growth, increasing from $21.46 billion in 2018 to
$108.0 billion in 2024, reflecting its aggressive expansion in the EV sector.
•Toyota maintains the highest absolute revenue (278B in 2024), but its growth is slower
and more stable.
•Ford experienced fluctuations, notably a dip in 2020, but achieved moderate recovery by
2024 ($183.20B).
7.2 Market Share and EV Adoption
•Tesla dominates the U.S. EV market with a 43.2% share, while Ford (6.5%) and Toyota
(1.2%) lag significantly.
•The disparity highlights Tesla's innovation-driven competitive advantage and the need for
legacy automakers to accelerate EV adoption.
7.3 R&D Investment and Innovation Correlation
•Tesla's R&D spending correlates strongly with revenue growth (r ≈ 0.92), demonstrating
the strategic importance of innovation in driving market performance.
•Toyota and Ford show moderate correlations, indicating room for improvement in
leveraging R&D for competitive advantage.
7.4 Mini-SWOT Analysis (Derived from Data)
Below is a summary table of the mini-SWOT Analysis of the data collected
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Table 7:Mini-SWOT Analysis
7.5 Industry-Level Trends
•The BI analysis reveals a clear industry shift toward electrification. Companies with high
R&D and fast EV adoption gain market share more rapidly.
•Innovation, measured by R&D investment and EV production capacity, is strongly
associated with revenue growth and competitive positioning.
•Data also suggests the importance of integrating customer sentiment and market
intelligence to anticipate shifts in consumer preferences.
Company
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Tesla
EV market leader,
strong brand loyalty,
and high innovation
Dependence on
the EV market,
production
capacity risks
Global EV
expansion, new
tech development
Competition from
legacy
automakers,
regulatory
Toyota
Strong financial
base, global reach,
and manufacturing
efficiency
Slow EV
adoption, low
U.S. EV market
share
Accelerate EV
adoption, leverage
hybrid tech
Tesla and other
EV competitors,
regulatory shifts
Ford
Established brand,
steady revenue,
growing EV models
Lower R&D
investment,
moderate EV
penetration
Expand EV
portfolio,
partnerships in
battery tech
Market share loss
to EV leaders,
global supply
chain constraints
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In the end, Tesla is well-positioned to compete successfully in the EV industry through
favorable innovation-based growth, while Toyota and Ford need to speed up the electrification
and innovation processes to remain relevant in the changing industry (Pohl & Karlström, 2023).
8. Conclusion & Recommendations
Business intelligence (BI) has been of great value in assessing competitive positioning
and strategic opportunities within the automotive industry. Therefore, BI also enables
organizations to base their decisions on data, guiding the choice of investments and predicting
future outcomes by converting financial, market, and innovation raw data into actionable
information.
8.1 Recommendations for Each Company
•Tesla: Tesla should continue expanding its production capacity, diversifying EV products,
and keeping its momentum in the area of R&D in order to remain on top of the market
(Hopkins et al., 2024).
•Toyota: They should accelerate EV adoption, invest more in EV-oriented research and
development, and use hybrid technology to gain market share (Rahman & Thill, 2024).
•Ford: They should build an EV portfolio, increase battery technology in research, and
seek strategic alliances to enhance competitiveness (Porters & Prahalad, 2023).
8.2 Future Scope
•Companies can incorporate sophisticated BI tools, predictive analytics with AI, and real-
time market tracking to improve decision-making.
•Leveraging customer emotion, social media data, and IoT-enabled auto intelligence can
provide additional layers of competitive understanding.
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•With the establishment of the automobile sector, BI will further be at the forefront of
shaping innovation strategy, effectiveness of operations, and market responsiveness,
enabling firms to achieve long-term competitive positions.
In conclusion, BI not only facilitates the existing strategic planning but also provides
automakers with the knowledge base to foresee the challenges in the market, to allocate
resources better, and to be innovative in a highly dynamic industry.
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9. References
Ahmad, A. (2025). Business intelligence for sustainable competitive advantage. In Sustaining
competitive advantage via business intelligence, knowledge management, and system
dynamics (pp. 3-220). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. https://www.emerald.com/
insight/content/doi/10.1108/s1069-096420150000022014/full/html
Hopkins, M., & Lazonick, W. (2024). Tesla as a Global Competitor: Strategic Control in the EV
Transition. Institute for New Economic Thinking Working Paper Series, (225). https://
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm?abstractid=4973602
Lu, Z. (2025, July). An Analysis of Tesla's Market Position and Future Prospects. In 2025
International Conference on Financial Risk and Investment Management (ICFRIM
2025) (pp. 919-928). Atlantis Press. https://www.atlantis-press.com/article/
126013074.pdf
Micucci, L. (2025). Electric vehicles: Actual market and future prospects, with a focus on battery
technology (Doctoral dissertation, Politecnico di Torino). https://
webthesis.biblio.polito.it/secure/35717/1/tesi.pdf
Pohl, H., & Karlström, M. (2023). Academic and corporate vehicle electrification
research. World Electric Vehicle Journal, 14(3), 71. https://www.mdpi.com/
2032-6653/14/3/71
Porters, M. W., & Prahalad, J. S. (2023). Strategic Innovation Management in U.S. Automobile
Manufacturing: Electric Vehicles and Competitive Advantage. Journal of Strategic
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Management, 7(6), 13-26. https://stratfordjournalpublishers.org/journals/index.php/
journal-of-strategic-management/article/download/1734/2252
Rahman, M. M., & Thill, J. C. (2024). A Comprehensive Survey of the Key Determinants of
Electric Vehicle Adoption: Insights and Implications for Smart Cities. https://
www.preprints.org/frontend/manuscript/0c7b8cb83ed3bf7e0ec6ee15e4ec086e/
download_pub
Rane, N., Paramesha, M., Choudhary, S., & Rane, J. (2024). Business intelligence through
artificial intelligence: A review. Available at SSRN4831916. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/
Delivery.cfm?abstractid=4831916
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10. Appendices
Table 1: Global EV (BEV) Units Sold (Thousands)
(Ba$ery Electric Vehicles only — excludes hybrids and PHEVs)
Sources: Tesla IR (2018–2023), IEA Global EV Outlook 2023–24, Toyota Sustainability Report
2023, Nikkei Asia (2024), Statista, Ford IR (2023).
Table 2: Annual Revenue (USD Billions)
Sources: Tesla 10-K filings, Toyota Annual Reports (JPY converted at BOJ average FX rates),
Ford Annual Reports.
Year
Tesla
Toyota
Ford
2018
245.2
2.0
7.5
2019
367.5
2.5
10.0
2020
499.5
3.5
25.0
2021
936.2
18.0
44.0
2022
1,313.9
24.5
62.0
2023
1,848.4
47.0
72.0
2024 (est.)
1,950.0
60.0
80.0
Year
Tesla
Toyota
Ford
2018
21.5
263.4
160.3
2019
24.6
272.9
155.9
2020
31.5
249.5
127.1
2021
53.8
279.0
136.3
2022
81.5
269.8
158.1
2023
96.8
279.4
176.2
2024 (est.)
108.0
285.0
182.0
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Table 3: R&D Spending (USD Billions)
Sources: Tesla SEC 10-K filings, Toyota Annual Reports, Ford SEC 10-K filings.
Table 4: Global BEV Market Share (%)
Sources: IEA Global EV Outlook 2024, BloombergNEF, Statista.
Year
Tesla
Toyota
Ford
2018
1.46
9.0
7.5
2019
1.50
9.2
7.7
2020
1.49
8.5
7.8
2021
2.59
8.8
7.9
2022
3.08
8.9
8.0
2023
3.97
8.8
7.8
2024 (est.)
4.20
9.0
8.0
Year
Tesla
Toyota
Ford
2018
17.2%
0.1%
0.5%
2019
19.1%
0.1%
0.5%
2020
16.9%
0.1%
0.8%
2021
15.8%
0.3%
0.7%
2022
17.1%
0.3%
0.8%
2023
13.1%
0.3%
0.5%
2024 (est.)
12.8%
0.4%
0.5%
24/7 custom essay writing by real academic writers
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Academic level:
Ph.D.
Type of paper:
Analysis essay
Discipline:
Accounting
Citation:
APA
Pages:
9 (2000 words)
Spacing:
Double
* The sample essays are for browsing purposes only and are not to be submitted as original work to avoid issues with plagiarism.
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