Saturday, June 5, 2004
Ferrari's first China showroom opens with Shanghai cruise
Associated Press Shanghai, June 5
Dozens of Ferraris cruised through Shanghai on Saturday as the Italian sports car maker opened its first showroom in China, joining a wave of foreign luxury brands targeting newly rich Chinese buyers.
The company said it hopes to double sales in China this year of its Ferrari and Maserati brands to 200 cars -- priced at up to 3 million yuan ($360,000) -- and plans to open dealerships in 11 mainland cities over the next 18 months.
"We at Maserati and Ferrari are trendsetters," said Richard Lee, chairman of the company's China joint venture. "China is the future of Asia."
Western makers of high-priced cars, designer clothes and other luxury goods are pouring into China as a tiny but wealthy elite emerges, enriched by two decades of economic reform and foreign investment.
Italian designer Giorgio Armani opened a Chinese flagship boutique last month in Shanghai, the country's business capital and richest city.
The opening of Ferrari's marble-lined showroom in a luxury hotel lobby began with 60 of its low-slung sports cars parading through the city. They were driven by their owners, who brought them from as far away as Singapore and Hong Kong.
The event was attended by celebrities including Taiwan pop singer Ritchie Ren, and models in miniskirts emblazoned with Ferrari's dancing horse symbol. The four vehicles on display in the showroom included a Ferrari race car.
Ferrari sold its first car in China in 1993. It says Chinese drivers have since bought more than 150 Ferraris and Maseratis, despite having to import them from abroad -- and despite the fact that China's average annual income is $1,000, and hundreds of millions get by on a few hundred dollars a year.
Ferrari holds 40 per cent of the new joint venture company. Another 30 per cent is held by China's state-owned Poly Group. The rest belongs to importer Italian Motors.
Ferrari says its plans for Chinese outlets include not just the more prosperous eastern cities, but those as remote as Chongqing in the southwest.
Outside the Shanghai showroom, curious residents stopped to look at cars parked after the parade up Nanjing Road, a major shopping street that was temporarily closed for the event. Some stepped up to snap each other's pictures beside the gleaming machines.
"I've never seen one before. They're really beautiful," said Miao Wenchang, a Shanghai office worker. Beaming with pride, he said, "China really has a lot of rich people now." Asked if he would consider buying one, Miao chuckled and said, "I won't make that much money in my whole life."
© HT Media Ltd. 2004.