Prestige car makers riding high despite COVID-19 pandemic
As the deadly pandemic wreaked economic havoc worldwide, the most expensive and exclusive car makers set all-time sales
records.
The latest waves of COVID-19 have decimated businesses and cost countless jobs worldwide – however, that hasn’t stopped the top end of town from splashing out on a record number of new prestige and luxury cars.
Many of the world’s most expensive automotive marques – including Bugatti, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Porsche – reported more sales than ever before during 2021.
Italian supercar maker Ferrari is yet to release its global sales data for the year, however industry analysts believe it is also on track to comfortably eclipse its own previous high of 10,131 deliveries set pre-pandemic in 2019.
In Australia the statistics show a similar trend; While the overall car market was up approximately 10 per cent in 2021 compared to the 12 months prior, the marques listed above saw sales increase by an average of 31 per cent (according to VFACTS industry sales data).
Aston Martin saw the biggest growth Down Under, with sales climbing from 92 to 140 year-on-year – an increase of approximately 52 per cent.
Ferrari was the only manufacturer listed above to go backwards locally – from 205 sales to 194 year-on-year – however this was caused by isolated local supply shortages and is not believed to reflect the brand’s wider global trend.
There is no consensus on what is driving the growth.
However, rising wealth inequality, reduced international travel spending, and the ongoing semiconductor shortage – which disproportionally affects high-volume and low-margin manufacturers – are likely contributors.
The proliferation of prestige SUVs – including the Bentley Bentayga, Lamborghini Urus, Aston-Martin DBX, Rolls-Royce Cullinan, and Porsche Cayenne – is also broadening the market appeal of top-end marques.
Earlier this week Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Otvös told the Financial Times in no uncertain terms that the deadly pandemic has been good for business.
“Quite a lot of people witnessed people in their community dying from COVID-19. That makes them think life can be short, and you’d better live now than postpone it to a later date,” Mr
Müller-Otvös told the English newspaper.“That has helped [Rolls-Royce] quite massively.”
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