The luxury market for cars is increasingly eastward. The last to notice are those of McLaren. The supercar manufacturer – whose name is always associated with Formula 1 – has started selling to China, in an attempt to grab a slice of the pie, already bitten by competitors such as Ferrari and Lamborghini.
Beijing's economy is creating some 30 millionaires a year, according to the research institute Hurun Report, and their hunger for super-luxury products – including cars – has made the People's Republic a new Eldorado for the hottest brands. expensive.
McLaren is about to open its first showroom in Shanghai within a few days and intends to also land in Beijing, Guangzhou and Chendu within the month. For the beginning of next year there is already talk of two other points of sale.
According to calculations by the British automaker, China could account for 10% of revenues and the entire Asian region as much as a third of the total.
But not everyone agrees that Beijing is the new paradise for the sector. Auto industry consultant AT Kearney, quoted by the Wall Street Journal, estimates that the Chinese market for ultra-luxury sedans and sports cars, including brands such as Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Maserati and Porsche, is 5 vehicles a year. But sales growth — which has surged 50 to 100 percent in recent years — is likely to slow significantly in 2013.
