Ferrari California T A fortnight is a long time in the octane-fuelled world of supercars and in the space of two weeks Lamborghini, Ferrari and McLaren will have all revealed their latest models to a local market with a massive appetite for them. McLaren, the Formula One team designer turned road supercar manufacturer, will unveil the 650S in the UAE on Sunday. This comes hot on the heels of Ferrari announcing August delivery dates for its new baby, the California T, and the launch of the Lamborghini Huracan last week.
"The Middle East is one of our most important markets,” said Ian Hession the regional sales manager – Middle East & Africa at McLaren Automotive. "This was demonstrable when we saw more of the McLaren P1s, our next generation ultimate supercar, being allocated to the Middle East than was originally planned, due to the sheer demand for the car. We anticipate production of approximately 1,200 of the 650S Coupe and Spider this year and the Middle East allocation is just over 10 per cent of this total.”
The UAE's car market has enjoyed a resurgence along with the property market and bourses.
The supercar segment of the market made huge gains through 2013 with Maserati posting a 44 per cent rise in sales, Lamborghini a 71 per cent increase and Ferrari a 21 per cent gain. The Ferrari gains nearly tripled its global increase of 8 per cent, underlining the importance of the UAE to supercar manufacturers.
"The UAE is of huge importance to Ferrari, it is no coincidence that the first ever Ferrari World was built in the capital, Abu Dhabi,” said Giulio Zauner the general manager at Ferrari UAE.
"The California T will be on the streets of the UAE this coming August, but the number we are looking to sell here has still to be announced. Ferrari announced in 2013 it is looking to limit the global sales of our models to retain exclusivity. Ferrari is not just about profit and sales. However the annual ‘Ferrari Finale Mondiale' the fiesta that celebrates the year's car racing, usually held in Italy or Spain, will be held in December in Abu Dhabi this year.”
The pricing for the new Ferrari model has still to be announced but the base model is expected to start at 4 per cent above the former model, which began at Dh770,000.
"When considering luxury cars, it is noteworthy that there are 120,000 households in the UAE that have an annual disposable income (ADI) in excess of US$300,000,' said Neil King, an automotive analyst at Euromonitor. "Considering our incomes forecasts for 2020, it is of note that we see huge growth in wealthier households with the same US$300,000 ADI jumping 70 per cent. Certainly in the UAE, luxury car makers look set to enjoy greater sales growth than the mass market for the foreseeable future. ”
Source: The National