Wednesday 19th February 2014

Ferrari profits up on bumper UK sales

UK now second biggest market for Ferrari in a year profits rose again, partly down to our love of V12s

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Ferrari has reported another record-breaking year in terms of profits, if not sales, with the UK now the second biggest Ferrari market after the US and ahead of Germany and China. The UK figure of 677 cars last was partly boosted by the fact that 2013 was the first full year of F12berlinetta sales. According to a Ferrari spokesman, our love of that car was a big reason why V12 sales for the firm actually rose 19 per cent in the year overall, while V8 sales fell 12 per cent. In an era of downsizing, that's a lovely statistic.

You can't argue with 54 million euros of profit...

Total numbers of Ferraris sold last year globally was 6,922, down from 7,318 the year before. But in a glorious bit of Ferrari spin, this was not down to fluctuations in the world markets but because the company "decided to reduce the number of cars sold to maintain a high level of exclusivity and increasing their value over the time."

Something went right anyway, because trading profits were up five per cent to a healthy 246 million euros (£202 million). Of that, a whopping 54 million euros came from just selling the branding rights to companies like Hublot, Puma or Percassi (the company that runs the branded stores).

In reality the dip in sales was largely due to a depressed market in China, which dropped by a quarter from the 500 sales made there in 2012. Still, not bad from the six cars sold in 2003.

Cars and soft goods both doing well for Ferrari

We hit number two after Germany sales slumped last year by around 100 to 652. In its home country of Italy, Ferrari sold just 202 cars, leading the brand to say in a statement that the country had now become a "marginal market for the luxury car sector." Ouch. Still, they remain the number-one European country for city cars such as the Fiat 500 and Panda though, which is good for Ferrari's majority owner.

Also doing well last year was Ferrari stablemate Maserati, which turned in a trading profit of 171 million euros overall, with the bulk of that coming at the end of the year with the start of Ghibli sales. The brand's biggest seller last year was the Quattroporte at around 8,000, with the GranTurismo and GranCabriolet selling around 5,000 combined. The US is by far the biggest Maserati market, with China in #2 spot.

With Europe sales bouncing back so far this year, expect 2014 to be a bumper one for Ferrari as the so-far well-received turbocharged California T launches.

[MogulBoy]

Title should read: "partly down to our [nom doms'] love of V12s"

[smilo996]

Well done Ferrari. Their current range are beauitful capable and largely without flaws.

Porsche must be wondering why their most popular car is now an oversized estate car that outsells its best "sports" car 2:1. A company that used to be known as a sportcar company.

[Galsia]

smilo996 said:

Well done Ferrari. Their current range are beauitful capable and largely without flaws.

Porsche must be wondering why their most popular car is now an oversized estate car that outsells its best "sports" car 2:1. A company that used to be known as a sportcar company.

One day, Ferrari will also make SUVs, especially if the one that Lamborghini are thinking of releasing ever sell in large amounts.

[mikebradford]

intresting that Maserati, are so profitable, considering they are not the emotional Brand
and i feel do not have as much brand promotion

[Amirhussain]

Galsia said:

smilo996 said:

Well done Ferrari. Their current range are beauitful capable and largely without flaws.

Porsche must be wondering why their most popular car is now an oversized estate car that outsells its best "sports" car 2:1. A company that used to be known as a sportcar company.

One day, Ferrari will also make SUVs, especially if the one that Lamborghini are thinking of releasing ever sell in large amounts.

I agree, has to be done.

[kambites]

Always nice to hear that a car company is doing well.

[soad]

kambites said:

Always nice to hear that a car company is doing well.

Indeed.

[wywywywy]

kambites said:

Always nice to hear that a car company is doing well.

Sounds like the UK is doing well too!

[Escort Si-130]

PH writes "UK now second biggest market for Ferrari in a year profits rose again, partly down to our love of V12s "

Ermmm no, I'm sure many of the type that buys them do not even know the engine has a V12. Its more of just buying the brand more than anything else.

[steviegunn]

MogulBoy said:

Title should read: "partly down to our [nom doms'] love of V12s"

Not many Non Doms in Aberdeen but a growing number of Fezzas.

[peter450]

Escort Si-130 said:

PH writes "UK now second biggest market for Ferrari in a year profits rose again, partly down to our love of V12s "

Ermmm no, I'm sure many of the type that buys them do not even know the engine has a V12. Its more of just buying the brand more than anything else.

If that were true, they'd save all the troubles of developing v12's and just stick a cheapo inline 4 in there

[Thankyou4calling]

Escort Si-130 said:

PH writes "UK now second biggest market for Ferrari in a year profits rose again, partly down to our love of V12s "

Ermmm no, I'm sure many of the type that buys them do not even know the engine has a V12. Its more of just buying the brand more than anything else.

When you say "Many of the type that buys them" who do you mean? I would refute that anyone who buys a Ferrari doesn't know ifit as a V12 engine. Just because an owner doesn't set the tappets and change spark plugs doesn't mean they aren't an enthusiast. If someone weren't interested in cars no way would they buy a Ferrari no matter how much money they had. Some of the posts on here really are daft, another one saying most are bought by non doms as if he has access to the passport details of Ferraris customers.

[BritishRacinGrin]

I wonder why Ferrari profit so much from their sale of bumpers...

[bobberz]

Galsia said:

smilo996 said:

Well done Ferrari. Their current range are beauitful capable and largely without flaws.

Porsche must be wondering why their most popular car is now an oversized estate car that outsells its best "sports" car 2:1. A company that used to be known as a sportcar company.

One day, Ferrari will also make SUVs, especially if the one that Lamborghini are thinking of releasing ever sell in large amounts.

I'd imagine they won't need to, considering the new Maserati SUV is on the horizon.

Speaking of Maser, I was at my local Ferrari/Maserati/Lamborghini dealership last weekend and I was amazed at the sheer number of Maseratis for sale. For Every Ferrari in the showroom, there were probably fifteen or so Maseratis inside and parked outside. Gran Turismos, Gran Cabrios, MC Stradales, Ghiblis, Quattroportes, you name it. Hearing that the US is their strongest market comes as no surprise, to me. It's hard to drive around where I live without seeing at least one Maserati in a day. Gran Cabrios seem to be the most popular (it is the US, after all, a magical land where something called "the Sun" is more than just a newspaper! )

That said, 911s are probably the single most popular high-end cars around here (I don't count BMWs, Audis, and Benzes, due to the fact that they're more common than air).

[Justices]

China would take the top spot overnight if the cars were the same price as they are back home.

[bubney72]

V8 vs V12
This is partly why the La already has the P1 beat.