VSt is a part of the economy that does not know the crisis, quite the contrary. Rolls-Royce, the prestigious brand of the BMW group has thus improved its historic record of 2019 by selling 5,586 cars. Wealthy customers flocked to the new “Ghost” coupe and the Cullinan SUV, sold from 300,000 euros (in France). Bentley and Lamborghini (Volkswagen group) also presented their sales records this week with respectively 14,659 and 8,405 cars sold worldwide, in particular thanks to their Bentayga and Urus SUVs, sold around 200,000 euros. On the hyper-luxury side, Bugatti welcomed the “best year ever in the history of the company”, with 150 cars ordered, for an entry ticket of around three million euros.
A lot of money ready to be spent
“It’s the same everywhere: after the crises, the rich are richer and the poor are poorer”, philosopher Adolfo De Stefani Cosentino, the president of the Italian Federation of dealers (Federauto). “Luxury and premium held up much better than the generalist segments.” “There is a lot of money ready to be spent,” Rolls-Royce boss Torsten Muller-Otvos said in an interview with AFP in May 2021. “I was impressed by the number of customers who told us that with the Covid, they understood that they could die tomorrow and that now is the time to enjoy life”. In parallel with the health crisis, the global automotive industry is hit by a shortage of components, in particular electronic chips, which prevent the production of vehicles when order books are full. The crisis has prevented the production of 9.5 to 11 million vehicles globally in 2021, according to the firm PwC.
BMW overtakes Mercedes
On the premium side, BMW recorded a record year with 2.2 million cars sold, particularly in China and the United States. Its arch-nemesis Mercedes-Benz saw global sales drop 5% due to chip shortages, but sales of its AMG sports division and luxury brand Maybach soared. “Only the most requested vehicles are produced,” said José Baghdad, partner and head of the automotive sector at PwC France and Maghreb. “Premium manufacturers are also willing to buy the components a little more expensive”. And the pleasures of luxury are not only experienced on four wheels: Italian Ducati motorcycles (from 15,000 euros for the most sporty) also improved their sales record in 2021, with nearly 60,000 copies sold around the world.
Some cars are investments
“There is a macroeconomic factor: part of the population has become very wealthy in recent years and has the capacity to buy luxury and very large luxury vehicles”, underlines the analyst. On the micro-market of ultra-luxury, “these cars have also shown in recent years that they do not lose value and even that they gain”. SUVs benefit from a global fashion effect but they are also the most accessible vehicles of these brands. Ferrari, which is due to publish its results in early February, is also due to present its first SUV this year, the “Purosangue”.
Porsche sells more Taycans than 911s
Another marker of the automobile of the 2020s, electrification also ends up affecting luxury, like “a new breath but a real challenge”, underlines Mr. Baghdad at PwC. “One of the interests of these brands was the motorization, with a particular power and sound. By switching to electric, it will be more difficult to distinguish them”. At Porsche (which also recorded a record year by exceeding 300,000 vehicles sold, particularly in China and America), the legendary sporty 911 was overtaken by the Taycan electric sedan, which saw its sales double in one year.
