Ferrari flies personalised supercars to super-rich Middle East buyers
Premium manufacturers keep delivering to lucrative customers despite sea freight disruption
Premium carmakers are delivering hyper-personalised supercars by air to their top Middle Eastern customers as the war in Iran threatens demand in one of their most lucrative markets.
Ferrari last week halted deliveries of most vehicles to the Gulf as car carriers remained unable to enter the region due to restrictions imposed by Iran on the Strait of Hormuz.
However, the Italian manufacturer said it was making a “few deliveries via airplane”. Ferrari has also told investors that its vehicles could be shipped to clients outside the region if requested.
Even before the US and Israeli first struck Iran, some super-wealthy customers paid for air freighting to take delivery of their limited-edition, bespoke luxury models more quickly. Air freight had been about three times more expensive than shipping.
Logistics and car industry executives said the price hikes caused by the conflict meant delivering a luxury vehicle by air could now cost four to five times more than by sea — a difference eager buyers were still willing to pay.
The average cost to fly a kilogramme of cargo from Europe to the Middle East has increased by two-thirds since the start of the conflict to $2.96, according to Freightos, a logistics information service. The cost of flying a luxury vehicle would be even higher.
“It just depends on whether the manufacturers are cutting into their own margin because of their relationship with the client, or whether the client has offered to move it on their own dime,” said Ian Arroyo, chief strategy officer at Freightos.
Bentley said it was using existing inventory in the region to fulfil orders placed before the conflict began and was not delivering by air.
BMW-owned Rolls-Royce said it was doing “everything possible” to meet customer demand but declined to provide details.
“It’s a very important region for us,” Chris Brownridge, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said, adding that he was in daily contact with his Middle Eastern customers. “Many of our clients who have vehicles expected would like them to be delivered and we’re working as best we can with the logistics to facilitate that delivery.”
Logistics companies said small numbers of vehicles could also be transported using shipping containers rather than car carriers, although that method would also be costly and time consuming.
The US and China are bigger markets than the Middle East in terms of vehicle volume, but the region is crucial for luxury carmakers because its high-net-worth individuals are willing to spend large amounts to make their vehicles highly personalised. Personalisation accounts for about a fifth of Ferrari’s automotive revenue.
Earlier this month, Volkswagen also warned that the war in the Middle East would hurt sales of its luxury vehicles, saying the region was “significant” for its premium brands that include Porsche, Lamborghini and Audi.
While most manufacturers said existing orders had not been cancelled, some industry executives said new orders were not being placed. One European carmaker said it was suspending plans to open new dealerships in Saudi Arabia, while customer visits to its showroom in Abu Dubai had dropped.
“It’s gone very, very quiet,” said the chief executive of the European manufacturer. If the conflict was prolonged, he said the company may need to reallocate some of the vehicles earmarked for the Middle East to countries such as Japan.
“We are selling the most expensive version of the most expensive cars in the Middle East,” he added. “It’s hard to get the same return to the business by placing vehicles that would have been sold in the Middle East elsewhere.”
Bentley boss Frank-Steffen Walliser also said the Middle East represented “the best market in the world” in terms of profit contribution. “We are very concerned about the situation. For sure, people in the Middle East have other thoughts than looking for a new Bentley at the moment.”
The disruption comes at a particularly challenging period for the sector, with higher tariffs in the US and a sharp sales slowdown in China. Many luxury brands had hoped that growth in the Middle East would offset some of the declines in their key markets, if not entirely.
“There is just nowhere to go,” said Andy Palmer, the former CEO of Aston Martin. “I’ve not seen for an awfully long time . . . where every market is dire.”