Car company executives complain that high costs and fierce competition are making their jobs tougher than ever. But for the few that sit at the industry’s high-luxury pinnacle, life these days is very sweet. Porsche, one of the industry’s most profitable producers, sold nearly 97,000 vehicles last year, a rise of 9.5 per cent, and earned pre-tax profit of €2.1bn. Among Italy’s legendary brands Ferrari, owned by Fiat, reported a 5 per cent rise in cars delivered to 5,671. Lamborghini – in Volkswagen’s stable – sold a record 2,100 last year, up more than 30 per cent.
Buyers in emerging markets are driving some of this. Ferrari increased its sales to the Middle East and Asia Pacific by 15 per cent last year, and doubled its deliveries to China. But top-end sales continue to boom in America, where Toyota’s luxury Lexus marque recently began selling its LS600h petrol-electric hybrid sedan for more than $100,000. In Europe, JD Power, a market research company, estimates that “high luxury” and “super luxury” cars – priced at €75,000 and up – rose from 123,723 in 2005 to 160,488 last year, and will rise another 14 per cent to nearly 183,000 this year.
