Luxury brands adapting to local tastes
By Helen Massy-Beresford |
April 21, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
LUXURY car makers that have learned the ropes in the familiar markets of Europe and the United States are having to adapt to new ways in China, but with the market set to boom, they have little choice but to get on board.
Analysts at IHS Automotive see China's premium segment growing to 909,946 units in 2011 and 1.6 million in 2015, compared with 727,227 last year.
One surprise for luxury car maker Bentley, a unit of Volkswagen, was the number of four-door cars it sells in China, where for many rich buyers relaxing on the plush leather of the back seats and leaving the driving to a chauffeur is the way to show the world that one has arrived.
About 80 percent of the cars that Bentley sells in China, which last month became its second-biggest market after the US, are four-door models, Alasdair Stewart, board member for sales and marketing, said. Elsewhere that figure drops to around 40 percent.
"In Europe, if people want to show success they'll have a sports car. In China, success is measured by the stretch in your limousine - the bigger the stretch the more successful you are," Stewart said.
Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann said customers were swiftly making the shift however, from luxury sedans to super cars and sports cars.
Lamborghini, also a unit of Volkswagen, is seeing more women customers in China than in its other big markets in the US, Italy and Britain.
Customers in China, which could become its top market soon, are younger too.
"This is a good sign because you can get old with them and this is something we have to take care of, that they don't leave the brand when they get older," Winkelmann said.
However, luxury brands, unlike their high-volume counterparts, don't sell enough cars to launch specific models for individual markets.
Analysts at IHS Automotive see China's premium segment growing to 909,946 units in 2011 and 1.6 million in 2015, compared with 727,227 last year.
One surprise for luxury car maker Bentley, a unit of Volkswagen, was the number of four-door cars it sells in China, where for many rich buyers relaxing on the plush leather of the back seats and leaving the driving to a chauffeur is the way to show the world that one has arrived.
About 80 percent of the cars that Bentley sells in China, which last month became its second-biggest market after the US, are four-door models, Alasdair Stewart, board member for sales and marketing, said. Elsewhere that figure drops to around 40 percent.
"In Europe, if people want to show success they'll have a sports car. In China, success is measured by the stretch in your limousine - the bigger the stretch the more successful you are," Stewart said.
Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann said customers were swiftly making the shift however, from luxury sedans to super cars and sports cars.
Lamborghini, also a unit of Volkswagen, is seeing more women customers in China than in its other big markets in the US, Italy and Britain.
Customers in China, which could become its top market soon, are younger too.
"This is a good sign because you can get old with them and this is something we have to take care of, that they don't leave the brand when they get older," Winkelmann said.
However, luxury brands, unlike their high-volume counterparts, don't sell enough cars to launch specific models for individual markets.
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