From History Exhibitions to New Car Launches
Frequent Visits by CEOs
British Brand Lotus Reenters Market
High Supercar Sales... Surpassed 10,000 Units Last Year
Trend-Sensitive, Also Suitable as a 'Test Bed'
Italian supercar brands Ferrari and Lamborghini have consecutively held events in South Korea. Their CEOs visit, and they hold new car unveilings as well as exhibitions showcasing their company histories. British sports car brand Lotus has made its third attempt to enter the Korean market. The reason these companies are entering the Korean market is due to the clear growth trend in the high-priced vehicle market (vehicles priced over 150 million KRW). Additionally, Korean consumers are sensitive to trends, making Korea a suitable testbed (an environment to test new products). In other words, new products and technologies are first tested in Korea before being introduced worldwide.
(From left) Kim Kwang-cheol, CEO of FMK, Dieter Nechtel, Head of Ferrari's Far East and Middle East regions, Benedetto Vigna, CEO of Ferrari, and Enrico Galliera, Chief Marketing Officer of Ferrari, are posing with the Roma Spider. Photo by Ferrari
Since the 1st of this month, Ferrari has been holding an exhibition called “Universo Ferrari” at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) in Seoul. It is the third such exhibition worldwide after Italy and Australia, and the first in Asia. Visitors can see a total of 22 Ferrari vehicles, ranging from F1 racing cars to the latest models including Ferrari’s first sports utility vehicle (SUV), the Purosangue. Additionally, there was an unveiling event for the new Roma Spider, which was revealed in March. Among the “Ferlambo” brands (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche), Porsche started such exhibitions last April, also for the first time in Asia.
Lamborghini will hold a new car unveiling event in Korea at the end of this month. The flagship model Revuelto will be revealed to the domestic media. It is equipped with a 12-cylinder engine and is the successor to the representative model Aventador. It is also Lamborghini’s first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). It was first unveiled in Asia at the Shanghai Motor Show in China this past April.
Company representatives such as chairmen and CEOs also visit Korea. The Universo Ferrari event was attended by CEO Benedetto Vigna, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Enrico Galliera, and Dieter Nechtel, head of the Far East and Middle East branches. Lamborghini’s Asia-Pacific head Francesco Scardaoni will participate in the Revuelto unveiling event following last month’s media track event. The chairmen also visited Korea in April (John Elkann, Ferrari chairman) and last November (Stephan Winkelmann, Lamborghini chairman), respectively.
At ONE&ONLY Tower in Magok, Seoul, Lee Gyu-ho, President of Kolon Mobility Group (right), and Mike Johnston, Vice President of Lotus UK (left), are taking a commemorative photo to celebrate the partnership agreement. [Photo by Kolon Mobility Group]
New competitors are also joining the Korean supercar battle. British sports car brand Lotus signed a new partnership with Kolon Mobility Group on the 25th of last month. Lotus first entered Korea in 2007. However, it was shunned by consumers due to its image as a circuit-only vehicle and the fact that most of its cars had manual transmissions. Over the following 10 years, cumulative sales reportedly did not exceed 200 units. This time, Lotus is re-entering the Korean market with more popular options such as automatic transmissions.
The reason these companies can enter the Korean market is that there are many consumers who want high-priced vehicles. According to data from Kaizyu Data Research Institute, the sales volume of supercar brands (Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, McLaren, Bentley, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche) was 9,940 units in 2021. Last year, it recorded 10,796 units, surpassing 10,000 units. Sales from January to May this year reached 5,839 units, and it is expected to exceed last year’s figures. The same applies when considering price rather than brand. According to the Korea Imported Automobile Association, sales of vehicles priced over 150 million KRW were 19,030 units in 2021, 24,356 units last year, and 9,040 units from January to April this year.
There is also an opinion that Korea is suitable as a testbed because it is sensitive to trends. Korean consumers are ready to accept each company’s cars without prejudice. Ferrari CMO Enrico Galliera stated at the Roma Spider unveiling event on the 1st, “Korea is a unique and distinctive market, similar to Ferrari, which likes change.” Lamborghini Asia-Pacific head Francesco Scardaoni evaluated the Korean market in May as “dynamic, with high expectations and demanding requirements,” adding that “there is a strong demand for differentiated, unique vehicles.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
