Automotive News Europe - February 16, 2009 - 7

February 16, 2009 www.autonewseurope.com · PAGE 7 Superluxury automakers used to offset troubles in one market by selling more cars in another. Globalization has made it harder to do this. Recession hits superluxury brands Despite excellent 2008, makers of exotic cars are pessimistic about ‘09 Luca Ciferri & Tony Lewin Automotive News Europe Global recession uncertainties may not be making the super-rich any poorer, but they are making them much more hesitant about buying a superluxury car. “When the outlook is so gloomy, many customers simply feel uncomfortable about taking pleasure in something that is a public sign of wealth and success,” Maserati CEO Harald J. Wester said. Executives at automakers that sell cars that cost more than ¤100,000 are increasingly concerned about their short-term future. For many of them the worry comes a few months after reporting the best unit sales results in their companies’ histories. During past recessions, there were markets that were still booming where a superluxury automaker could export its way out trouble. Rolls-Royce CEO Tom Purves said that globalization of the economy has made it harder to do this. “All the economies are now joined up, so a hiccup in the US means a hiccup in Russia. Russia is struggling and China growth has slowed substantially,” Purves said. Executives from Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati told Au- Global unit sales data 2007 2008 Aston Martin 7,400 6,400 Bentley 10,014 7,604 Ferrari 6,465 6,587 Lamborghini 2,406 2,430 Maserati 7,353 8,586 Maybach 400 300 Rolls-Royce 1,212 1,010 Total 34,288 32,198 Source: Companies %chg -13.5 -24.1 +1.9 +1.0 +16.8 -25.0 +20.0 -6.1 tomotive News Europe that they predict sales decreases this year, but most declined to quantify how big those declines would be. Only Aston Martin was prepared to provide a figure for this year: about 5,000 sales, down from 6,400 units in 2008 and 7,400 in 2007. “Our revised sales expectation for 2009 reflects the current climate – although this still, potentially, represents amongst the highest outputs in the company’s history,” Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez said in an e-mail reply to questions. Tough year looming With a tough year looming, Ferrari softened its tone for this year when reporting its unit sales and profit results for 2008, which set records. “The economic climate in 2009 remains very uncertain as the crisis takes its toll across the globe. It is hard to say how the situation will develop from here,” Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said in a statement. Maserati CEO Wester “A Maserati is a gift admitted the company would not grow again you make to your this year, after achievpassion for cars.” ing its best-ever sales results in 2008. Harald J. Wester, “Our customers do Maserati CEO not need a Maserati,” he said. “Such a car is a gift you make to your passion for cars.” Lamborghini offset last year’s sales drop in the US with growth in the Middle East, China and Southeast Asia. The company set another unit sales record despite selling just 24 units – or 1 percent – more than in 2007. Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann said: “We will face a reduction of sales all over the world.” Rolls-Royce, which has just enjoyed its fifth consecutive year of growth, is the only superluxury carmaker predicting a sales increase for 2009. Rolls-Royce CEO Tom Purves said the carmaker wanted to do better in 2009 than last year. “That’s an ambition, and I use that word deliberately,” he said. Bentley was the only superluxury automaker that suffered a significant decline last year, with sales down 24 percent to 7,604 units. Bentley had enjoyed its best year ever in 2007 with 10,104 sales. Prior to that result, no superluxury automaker had ever sold more than 10,000 units in a single year. Stuart McCullough, Bentley’s board member for sales and marketing, said Bentley first began to see an impact in the US in 2007 and shifted supply to still-growing markets such as China and the Middle East. “The downturn really took effect in the UK and mainland Europe from the summer onward,” he said. Not all markets declined for Bentley last year: China was up 62 percent and the Middle East rose 10 percent. For Rolls-Royce, money is not the issue for its potential customers. “I’m not aware of a lack of interest or a desire to postpone because of money,” Purves said. “It has much more to do with doing the right thing at this time.” Bettina Mayer, Alysha Webb & Hurtej Kaur contributed Global production data 2007 2008 Aston Martin 7,393 6,406 Bentley 9,965 7,439 Ferrari 7,935 9,759 Lamborghini 2,563 2,471 Maserati 7,669 10,504 Maybach 320 310 Rolls-Royce 1,009 1,391 Total 36,870 38,293 %chg -13.4 -25.3 +23.0 -3.6 +37.0 -3.1 +37.9 +3.9 Source: J.D. Power Automotive Forecasting No changes yet to product plans Luca Ciferri Automotive News Europe Despite the expected sales slowdown this year, superluxury carmakers are not cutting their new product programs, at least in the short term. By year-end Maserati will introduce the oft-delayed convertible version of its best-selling model, the GranTurismo coupe. Lamborghini will stick to its strategy of coming out with at least one new product a year, Winkelmann said. In Geneva, Rolls-Royce will preview a new, smaller model to broaden its costumer base. (See story, Page 14) Aston Martin remains fully committed to its immediate plans: the Geneva show launch of the V12 Vantage and DBS Volante plus the preview of a production-ready Rapide at the end of the year. But the recession has had an effect on Aston Martin. “We have been forced to delay longer term plans,” CEO Ulrich Bez said. Bentley, meanwhile, is trying to become greener to recover sales and will unveil its first biofuelcompatible model in Geneva. ANE Q & A: Jean-Pierre Ploue PSA design chief plans to ‘reinvent’ Peugeot’s style BARCELONA It’s been a tough five months since Jean-Pierre Ploue took over as the first director of styling at PSA/Peugeot-Citroen. The auto industry slump is taking its toll on new-project development, which is complicating Ploue’s plans for consolidating and improving design at the two French brands. PSA CEO Christian Streiff has asked Ploue to give Peugeot the same design flair he’s credited with bringing to Citroen over his eight-year tenure. Ploue, 40, spoke with Automotive News Europe Staff Reporter Lawrence J. Speer about the challenges of his new role during the press launch of the new Citroen C3 Picasso here. You’ve stepped into this new role at a difficult time. It’s true that the market is tough for everyone, but the crisis has probably also allowed me to gradually build up speed. We’ve had to postpone some projects and adapted others to the new situation. This is actually giving us a bit more breathing room, and more time to reflect on where we should be going with the reorganization of design for the two brands. You were previously the head of styling at Citroen. Jerome Gallix used to hold a similar post at Peugeot. Are there any plans to have separate Peugeot and Citroen design bosses again? We would prefer not to go down that road today. And it’s not just a question of cost, although there is an element of that. I’ve been asked to do the sort of work with Peugeot that I did at Citroen. For my artistic direc- “To leave your mark on a brand, you have to put your guts into it.” Jean-Pierre Ploue, PSA design director tion to be clear from the beginning, then I have to be the one doing the job there. So what is the goal at Peugeot? And how do you put the Jean-Pierre Ploue stamp on the brand? To leave your mark on a brand, you have to put your guts into it, as well as your philosophy and your emotions. At Citroen, I developed a strategy for product quality and perceived quality while developing the character and values that helped the brand evolve toward its own idea of modernity. Now I have to do the same work for Peugeot, but it’s absolutely different, because the brand is different. It has its own history, its own approach. It’s probably not going to be easy, but it’s not going to be difficult or impossible either. Must you change Peugeot’s design? There’s definitely a Peugeot style, which is well recognized and has its fans. We have to reinvent this style, like you would with any other brand. We’re going to add modernity, through the use of technology, while maintaining the French elegance that Peugeot is known for. A Peugeot has to have personality, it has to ANE move you when it drives by.

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Automotive News Europe - February 16, 2009

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