Luxury car sales a rare bright spot in a flat UAE market
Category had a relatively better set of returns during the first quarter
Luxury sells... even in a flat market. “Customer sentiments are tough... but unlike other categories seeing negative growth, luxury automotive sales did zero to 5 per cent in the first quarter,” said Michel Ayat, CEO of AW Rostamani Automotive and Arabian Automobiles Co.
“That’s been a big plus, more so as the premium category accounts for 13 per cent of overall automobile sales in the UAE. That’s much higher than 4- 5 per cent share it has in the other Gulf markets.”
Based on industry estimates, the UAE market for luxury cars accounted for 57,000 units plus in the 12 months ended March.
Overall car and SUV imports into the UAE accounted for 400,000 units plus during 2015, including those that ended up as re- exports.
Something to cheer about
If demand for luxury vehicles holds up through the rest of the year and gets enough support from SUV sales, local dealerships will still have enough to work on. Some of them had been bracing for the worst, but spurts of buying — from retail as well as fleet operators — gave them something to cheer about in the first three months.
“The SUV range is turning out to be as wide as what you see in cars,” said Ayat. “Manufacturers and dealerships have quickly learnt that it gives them the right set of numbers to have a full line- up of SUV models and not just the big ones. And these days SUVs have the same pricing structures as a sedan would.”
Anything less than a fullscale SUV model range can thus be something of a disadvantage, and more so as the category, for the first time in 2015, outpaced sales of sedans in the UAE.
Arabian Automobiles Co ( AAC) is ticking all the boxes when it comes to the SUV/ crossover options for Infiniti.
“The entry- level Q30 sedan should be available from July onwards and the SUV version [ QX30] from [ the third quarter] next year,” said Ayat. “That should complete the entire spectrum of possibilities Infiniti can offer in this market.”
AAC, which has the rights for Dubai and the northern emirates, is looking to cross the 3,500 unit mark with the marque label this year, up from the 3,100 units it did last year. That was enough to retain the mantle of highest selling Infiniti dealership in the region, and for the UAE — with 4,000 units plus — to again be the top market.
The dealership has just introduced two updated models — the QX50 and QX60.
“If it was the QX70 [ formerly the FX, that] was the most favoured Infiniti in the UAE, that’s changing,” said Ayat. “There’s no anchor model anymore — each one is contributing to the same extent.”