Luxury cars are big boys' toys
By Mark South (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-06-02 09:31 "The only place you can drive it quickly is to the airport at night when
it's not too busy," he said, referring to the Pudong expressway which has a
speed limit of 100 kmh.
In town, the limit is 60 kmh but traffic rarely
moves that fast; even on the country's fastest roads the limit of 120 kmh is
only a little over a third of the car's true capability.
Shanghai's F1
track could offer a high speed oasis, were Fang looking for somewhere to give
his accelerator pedal free reign, but he concedes the car's performance was not
really what he bought it for.
"I've never taken it to the track," he
explained. "The most important thing is that it's a good-looking car. I keep it
in my garage at home, I wash it myself and it's a big boy's toy I like it
and I can afford it, so I bought it. There's no point making money if you can't
enjoy it."
It is a mantra Shanghai's wealthy are increasingly keen to follow,
and one car manufacturers are more than happy to indulge.
Last year
Ferrari delivered 82 cars to customers on the mainland, almost double the 42 it
imported between 1993 and 2004.
By March this year, the company reported
it already had a 50-name waiting list for deliveries on the
mainland.
Sister company Maserati is experiencing similarly impressive
growth, expecting to double sales from 70 in 2005 to 140 this year.
The pair now have a network of 11 dealers in China,
covering not only Shanghai and Beijing but also cities such as Guangzhou,
Chengdu, Chongqing and Xiamen.
(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
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