Ferrari and other luxury automakers are looking East for new sales
If were not able to snap up a Ferrari 599 GTO before they sold out, maybe a woman in China bought Ferrari’s newest super car from right under your nose. According to GoAuto.com.au, Chinese Women are driving Ferrari sales in the People’s Republic of China. 20 percent of the 220 Italian super cars were sold to women this year. In the West, only five percent of Ferrari’s sales are to women.
Ferrari is hoping to at least double sales in the PRC. China has weathered this recession much better than we have in the U.S. and its wealthy elite are chomping at the bit to buy luxury cars.
The Associated Press has reported that the PRC has 825,000 people worth at least $1.3 million. Salivating luxury automaker’s are diving headfirst into the Chinese market to make up for lost sales during the recession. The U.S. and European luxury car market have been shrinking, but in China it’s booming. AutoNews has discovered that Bentley’s sales are down 49 percent in the U.S., but are “exploding” in China.
It’s not all Bentley’s and Ferrari’s being sold in China. People in the PRC often buy cars with cold hard cash. Autoblog has reported that 90% of Buicks are bought with cash. Buyers will come in with bags of money to pay for a car. Contrast this to how we have to beg a bank to finance us during a supposed “credit crunch.”
While the wealthy are enjoying the fruits of their labor, it’s important to point out that not everybody is bringing duffel-bags of cash into dealerships and driving off in a Ferrari California. In 2007, the average worker in the PRC made just $250 dollars a month.
Often it takes an entire extended families savings to even purchase a car in China. While the people at the top are buying luxury cars at a record pace, the average American still has it much better than a worker in China. The average American still has to borrow money from a bank to buy a car, but don’t forget that the car payment is often more than a person in China’s entire monthly wage.
Leave a Reply