reporter2
18-11-21, 08:30
Superwealthy revving up Bugatti and other exotic car sales in Singapore
4 of the multi-million dollar car sold in couple of months, while Ferrari woos buyers with private viewings at its showroom
Nov 18, 2021
TALK about a handsome return on real estate. The new Bugatti showroom that Wearnes Automotive opened on Leng Kee Road has helped sales of the multimillion-dollar supercars surge.
Wearnes sold 4 Bugattis after opening the doors to the new premises in August, while the brand enjoyed a record-breaking year. For perspective, it took 5 years to move 19 units of the Chiron, a 1,500 horsepower super coupe.
The showroom is Bugatti's first in South-east Asia, and opened with a Pur Sport edition of the Chiron inside. It costs 3.1 million euros (S$4.76 million) without taxes, and having it there "definitely" helped boost sales, said Sebastian Tan, general manager of Wearnes' prestige brands division.
Yet, the physical space is part of a sales pitch that includes a digital element.
"Apart from organising small groups and customer one-on-one viewings in the Bugatti showroom, we have a video wall whereby a full Molsheim Experience can be demonstrated and individual car configurations can be completed from and in the comfort of our showroom," Tan said, referring to Bugatti's home in France, where customers usually go to soak up the brand's heritage and test drive its cars.
The showroom even works as a virtual contact point with overseas customers. "We used Microsoft Teams to walk through the entire process with our prospects," he said. "While this was not the typical experience our customers are used to, it still worked in our favour."
Across the road from Bugatti, Ital Auto uses a similar mix of the physical and digital to woo Ferrari customers. The dealership conducted private viewings last week to show off its range of new and used cars, but also let prospective buyers dabble at customising their dream Ferrari via a digital configurator. Virtual reality headsets whisked them digitally to Maranello in northern Italy for a tour of the brand's factory.
The event was created "to bring the heart of Maranello closer to our Ferrari enthusiasts, directly at the dealer showrooms, giving them a full immersion into the Ferrari universe," Dieter Knechtel, president Far East and Middle East for Ferrari, told The Business Times. "We focus relentlessly on strengthening this connection and therefore the physical showroom remains a very important touchpoint for Ferrari."
Yet, as useful as showrooms are to luxury brands, finding cars to put inside them is getting tough as waiting lists build worldwide.
The multi-brand Eurokars Group is building a showroom for Pagani Automobili after clinching the dealership for the boutique supercar maker, but can probably take its time because Pagani's cars are sold out until 2023.
Meanwhile, Wearnes is displaying a customer's car in the Bugatti showroom while it waits for one from Molsheim. Tan said the brand's sales surge is part of a new reality. "From our perspective, it is a result of the growing amount of wealth seen recently in South-east Asia," he said. "It is definitely sustainable, as this year has been a remarkable one for Bugatti with record-breaking sales globally."
Tan said fewer than 20 of 500 Chirons are left for sale, and said they could be gone in weeks, or even days. Wearnes has also sold an undisclosed number of the Bugatti Bolide, a 4 million Euro hypercar that isn't street legal.
As wealth around the region grows, at least some of it is headed for the racing track.
4 of the multi-million dollar car sold in couple of months, while Ferrari woos buyers with private viewings at its showroom
Nov 18, 2021
TALK about a handsome return on real estate. The new Bugatti showroom that Wearnes Automotive opened on Leng Kee Road has helped sales of the multimillion-dollar supercars surge.
Wearnes sold 4 Bugattis after opening the doors to the new premises in August, while the brand enjoyed a record-breaking year. For perspective, it took 5 years to move 19 units of the Chiron, a 1,500 horsepower super coupe.
The showroom is Bugatti's first in South-east Asia, and opened with a Pur Sport edition of the Chiron inside. It costs 3.1 million euros (S$4.76 million) without taxes, and having it there "definitely" helped boost sales, said Sebastian Tan, general manager of Wearnes' prestige brands division.
Yet, the physical space is part of a sales pitch that includes a digital element.
"Apart from organising small groups and customer one-on-one viewings in the Bugatti showroom, we have a video wall whereby a full Molsheim Experience can be demonstrated and individual car configurations can be completed from and in the comfort of our showroom," Tan said, referring to Bugatti's home in France, where customers usually go to soak up the brand's heritage and test drive its cars.
The showroom even works as a virtual contact point with overseas customers. "We used Microsoft Teams to walk through the entire process with our prospects," he said. "While this was not the typical experience our customers are used to, it still worked in our favour."
Across the road from Bugatti, Ital Auto uses a similar mix of the physical and digital to woo Ferrari customers. The dealership conducted private viewings last week to show off its range of new and used cars, but also let prospective buyers dabble at customising their dream Ferrari via a digital configurator. Virtual reality headsets whisked them digitally to Maranello in northern Italy for a tour of the brand's factory.
The event was created "to bring the heart of Maranello closer to our Ferrari enthusiasts, directly at the dealer showrooms, giving them a full immersion into the Ferrari universe," Dieter Knechtel, president Far East and Middle East for Ferrari, told The Business Times. "We focus relentlessly on strengthening this connection and therefore the physical showroom remains a very important touchpoint for Ferrari."
Yet, as useful as showrooms are to luxury brands, finding cars to put inside them is getting tough as waiting lists build worldwide.
The multi-brand Eurokars Group is building a showroom for Pagani Automobili after clinching the dealership for the boutique supercar maker, but can probably take its time because Pagani's cars are sold out until 2023.
Meanwhile, Wearnes is displaying a customer's car in the Bugatti showroom while it waits for one from Molsheim. Tan said the brand's sales surge is part of a new reality. "From our perspective, it is a result of the growing amount of wealth seen recently in South-east Asia," he said. "It is definitely sustainable, as this year has been a remarkable one for Bugatti with record-breaking sales globally."
Tan said fewer than 20 of 500 Chirons are left for sale, and said they could be gone in weeks, or even days. Wearnes has also sold an undisclosed number of the Bugatti Bolide, a 4 million Euro hypercar that isn't street legal.
As wealth around the region grows, at least some of it is headed for the racing track.