Niche taps used supercars
Niche Cars Group Co, an authorised importer and distributor of supercars, has expanded into selling certified used supercars to tap into local well-off supercar lovers.
Managing director Vittawat Chinabarramee said there are no local authorised distributors for used supercars with a maintenance guarantee in Thailand, offering room for Niche Cars’ entrance.
The used supercars from Niche Cars start with price tags from 6-30 million baht with two-year maintenance services and financial facility.
Founded over 30 years ago by Seree Chinabarramee, Mr Vittawat’s father, Niche Cars, formerly known as Benz Nakarin Auto Group, is the authorised distributor for five supercar brands — Italy’s Lamborghini and Pagani, Britain’s McLaren and Lotus and Sweden’s Koenigsegg.
It also sells Britain’s Princess Yachts and US Hummer sport utility vehicles (SUVs).
The company has a customer base of around 600-700.
According to Mr Vittawat, Niche Cars sold 70 supercars last year, mainly Lamborghinis and McLarens.
He expected this year’s sales will be around 60-70 units, with sales reaching 90 in 2018, thanks to the launch of the new Lamborghini SUVs.
Cars priced more than 40 million baht are considered supercars.
Mr Vittawat said 300-500 new supercars are sold in Thailand each year, some through independent importers in the grey market.
The supercar market has become much more stable over the years. Sales don’t swing drastically, as supercars are considered to be collectibles.
According to Mr Vittawat, used supercars sales will be run separately from the new supercars.
However, the used supercars will be made also available at the 15,000-squaremetre flagship store near the BangkokChon Buri Motorway, into which Niche Cars has invested 1 billion baht, including land prices.
According to Mr Vittawat, the company also allows supercar owners of all brands to trade in their supercars for new ones, with no requirement for mileages and car ages.
“We welcome all supercars brands [to be traded in],” he said.
As of last year, Porsche had the most registered supercars in Thailand at 6,885 units, followed by Ferrari at 547 and Bentley at 501.
Lamborghini had 458 accumulated cars sold as of 2016, with Maserati at 254 and Lotus at 240 cars.
Mr Vittawat expects to sell 28 used supercars in 2017.