In the midst of the Covid-19 epidemic, it is a sector that is chaining sales records. At the top of a paralyzed automobile market, luxury cars shine: Rolls-Royce, Bentley and even Bugatti had a prosperous year in 2021, with SUVs at the top of the sales list, these raised vehicles that look like an all-terrain vehicle but with benefits close to a sedan.
Rolls (BMW Group) improved on its historic record of 2019 by selling 5,586 cars. Wealthy customers flocked to the new “Ghost” coupé 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. “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”.
A desire to “enjoy life”
“There is a lot of money ready to be spent,” Rolls-Royce boss Torsten Muller-Otvos said in an interview in May 2021. “I have been impressed by the number of customers who have entrusted us with that with the Covid, they had 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.
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”.
Motorcycles and electric Porsche also at the top
And the pleasures of luxury are not only experienced on four wheels: Italian Ducati motorcycles (from 15,000 euros for the most sporty ones) also improved their sales record in 2021, with nearly 60,000 copies sold across the country. world.
“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. In 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”.
Another marker of the automobile of the 2020s, electrification also ends up affecting luxury, like “a new breath but a real challenge”, underlines the expert from PwC. “One of the interests of these brands was motorization, with a particular power and sound. By switching to electric, it will be more difficult to tell them apart”.
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.