Question 3: Business Concept Application
Ridgeline Cycles: sizing up the e-bike market
- Units 1 and 2
- 3 points
- About 13 minutes
You can use a calculator on this question, just like on exam day.
A short scenario about a business gathering evidence for its plans: you describe how it did its research, describe what the data show, and explain how the business could use that finding to reach a goal. On the exam: Question 3 of 4, Section IIB (Questions 2–4 share 65 minutes); suggested time 12–13 minutes, 5% of the score. Assesses Skill Category 1. Section II has 4 free-response questions in 90 minutes (40% of the score). The exam is fully digital in Bluebook, and only a 4-function calculator is allowed (handheld or the built-in Desmos 4-function calculator).
The question and its sources
Respond to parts A, B, and C.
Ridgeline Cycles
Ridgeline Cycles makes mountain and road bikes and sells them through bike shops in its region. It wants to launch its first electric bike (e-bike) and gain market share in the region's e-bike market.
Before designing the bike, Ridgeline's marketing team gathered information from a bicycle industry association's annual reports, a city transportation department report and rival companies' websites. The industry reports gave regional e-bike sales (Table 1). The rivals' websites gave each rival's price and battery range, and the industry reports gave market shares (Table 2).
The city transportation report says the region's largest city plans to add 40 miles of protected bike lanes over the next three years.
Source: Hypothetical scenario written for this practice question
Table 1. E-bikes sold in Ridgeline's region
| Year | E-bikes sold |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 18,000 |
| 2023 | 21,500 |
| 2024 | 26,000 |
| 2025 | 31,200 |
Source: Hypothetical data written for this practice question
Table 2. Leading e-bikes in the region, 2025
| Brand | Price | Battery range (miles) | Market share (by units sold) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voltway | $1,299 | 30 | 41% |
| UrbanGlide | $1,799 | 45 | 27% |
| Crestline | $2,499 | 60 | 22% |
| All others | Varies | Varies | 10% |
Source: Hypothetical data written for this practice question
Suggested time: 13 minutes
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Part (A)
1 pointDescribe the research method Ridgeline used to gather the information in the scenario.
0 / 2,500 characters
Part (B)
1 pointDescribe a finding revealed by the research.
0 / 2,500 characters
Part (C)
1 pointExplain how Ridgeline could use a finding from the research to achieve its goal of gaining market share in the regional e-bike market.
0 / 2,500 characters
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