Lamborghini’s startling sales success in China for the first six months of this year is due to a significant increase in dealer numbers and improving infrastructure says the luxury sports car manufacturer.
The Italian automaker posted a major volume increase in China for the first half of 2010, with sales rising from 28 to 86 units making the country Lamborghini’s second largest market.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
“We had six [dealers] at the end of 2009 in chain and in April, we opened another one in Shenzen,” a Lamborghini spokeswoman told just-auto. “Another one in Xiamen is open now [making] eight dealers in total.
“One of the things we are always aware of in emerging economies is the infrastructure of the country has to grow in line with the luxury expectations of the people.”
To that end, Lamborghini noted there had been “significant development” in Chinese road infrastructure.
The manufacturer conceded however, that China and in fact, a large swath of Asia-Pacific was compensating for depressed sales in mature western markets.
Overall numbers of cars delivered fell from 825 to 674 in the first half of this year, coupled with a revenue drop of 2.6% to EUR152.9m (US$201m).
“At at time when things are more difficult in Europe and the US, you have to deal on a global basis,” said the Lamborghini spokeswoman.
The carmaker does not advertise in China in line with its worldwide policy of driving the brand through the product itself. In fact, the manufacturer deliberately ensures there are less cars than demand to ensure exclusivity.
“Lamborghini’s appeal is it is Italian and the Chinese are keen to have the most extreme,” added the spokeswoman.
