Abu Dhabi has become the world’s biggest market for Rolls-Royce cars, edging out Dubai and Beijing in sales last year.
Rolls-Royce’s Abu Dhabi and Dubai dealerships achieved the highest sales and second-highest sales respectively, said Frank Tiemann, Rolls-Royce’s communications manager for Europe and the Middle East.
This was ahead of Beijing and London, which tied for third place, and Beverly Hills in the US in fifth place.
“This is a very impressive development for Abu Dhabi,” Mr Tiemann said yesterday. “It has been top five for the past three years.”
Overall sales in the Middle East rose 48 per cent last year, up from 40 per cent in 2007, he said.
The most popular Rolls-Royce model for Emirates buyers last year was the Phantom, a four-door limousine whose base price was about US$400,000 (Dh1.46 million) before taxes and without any customized features, said Mr Tiemann.
Worldwide, Abu Dhabi and Dubai had the highest levels of requests for customization, which can range from a personalized color to specially positioned knobs and buttons, he said.
“In the UAE, every single car was a bespoke Phantom, which can easily double the cost,” he said.
Tiemann would not comment on how many Rolls-Royces were sold in Abu Dhabi or Dubai – the only two dealerships in the Emirates – but said the numbers were in the three-digit range last year.
In 2007, sales were also in the triple digits, he said, with Abu Dhabi’s dealership ranking second-best in sales and Dubai ranking fifth.
Tiemann said the rise in sales in the Emirates stemmed from the growing wealth in the region.
“The sales shares we see in the different regions are based on the allocation of wealth around the globe,” he said. “There is no secret of success from my point of view.”
Rolls-Royce is the latest car dealer to announce sales growth for last year in the Middle East, a year that crushed the industry.
General Motors (GM), which was recently dethroned by Toyota as the top-selling car maker worldwide, recorded a 19 per cent increase in sales here last year. Across the Middle East, GM sold a record 144,485 cars last year.
Mercedes-Benz saw growth in sales similar to GM, delivering a record 19,070 vehicles, up 13 per cent from the year before.
The German car maker delivered 2,959 cars in Abu Dhabi, representing an 18 per cent increase from 2007. In Dubai, Mercedes-Benz delivered 4,792 cars, an increase of 12.8 per cent on the previous year.
However, industry insiders say that could all change this year. Dealers report that sales have slowed in recent months due to tougher requirements for car financing, including a higher minimum salary and higher interest rates.
Jose Paul, a consulting manager at the research firm Frost and Sullivan, which covers cars and transport for the Middle East and North Africa, said the luxury car market was less dependent on financing but would still be hit in the coming year.
“Considering the current market conditions, some of the [luxury] brands are likely to see lower growth rates or even negative sales in 2009,” he said. “Purchase of such cars does not just depend on the need, but on a whole host of factors, which include even factors like the exchange rate of the currency. Currently, customers are definitely more cautious about their purchases.”
Tiemann said Rolls-Royce had not been immune to the effects of the economic slowdown in all regions and “sales have been suffering a bit”.
He said it was too early to make predictions for this year, but the company was well-positioned in the region.
“The Middle East made a tremendous result [in 2008], and stands for nearly 20 per cent of the worldwide figures,” he said. “We’ve got a very solid basis to looking into the future.” – The National
