Two Ferraris, two Maybachs, ten Bentleys and Lamborghinis and two Rolls Royces. This is a list of the super deluxe cars, each costing hundreds of thousands of euros, which have been delivered to the Romanian market by the automotive importers over the last few years.
These cars are not included in market statistics, however, and their number doubles when taking into account those cars, both new and second hand, bought directly abroad.
It is a simple matter to explain. Although none of the super luxury brands have showrooms on the local market, importers mostly act as sales agents for the importers from western European countries, such as Austria or Germany.
The importers in Romania are preparing for the time when the number of sales of such cars on the domestic market starts to justify investing in a showroom, something which is not far from happening.
A Ferrari costs at least 200,000 euros, though may go as far as to 700,000 euros; a Maybach ranges between 300,000 and 500,000 euros, while Bentleys and Lamborghinis cost between 200,000 to 800,000 euros.
The official number of deliveries for super luxury cars in Romania could soar this autumn, automotive companies say, after the Bucharest Auto Show has taken place where many of these brands will have their own stands.
"So far we have delivered two Rolls Royce Phantoms to customers in Romania," said Michael Schmidt, the general manager of Automobile Bavaria, the importer for BMW in Romania. "We will start taking orders this autumn for the convertible model that Rolls Royce is preparing to launch. I believe we can have at least three orders for this model." BMW has been the owner of the Rolls Royce brand since early 2003.
The super luxury brand of the German car manufacturer DaimlerChrysler, Maybach, has so far made two official sales on the domestic market.
The first went to the businessman Ion Tiriac, who is also the owner of the local importer for DaimlerChrysler.
The second was bought by Viorel Catarama, and is the only such car mentioned in the statistics of the Association of Automotive Manufacturers and Importers of Romania (APIA).
Ferrari joined the ranks of deluxe cars in Romania this year. The chairman of Autoitalia, the importer for Fiat, says the first two Ferrari models were delivered this year with Autoitalia acting as an agent in the sale. The company also delivered 7 Maseratis this year.
The most active importer, however, is Porsche Romania, which has so far brokered the sale of ten Bentleys and Lamborghinis, according to their general manager, Brent Valmar. They also sold 37 Porsches in the first half of this year alone. According to market information, the number of Bentley and Lamborghini cars currently registered is twice this higher.
Deluxe cars and sports utility vehicles accounts for less than 0.3% of the close to 130,000 vehicles sold in Romania in the first half of this year. ionut.bonoiu@zf.ro
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
