Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Dubai International Motor Show
2011 has reported spectacular sales, drawing record crowds to not only admire,
but also buy cars from some of the most impressive brands in the world. Shelby
Supercars, who participated at the show purely to raise brand recognition, ended
up selling a stunning ten Tuatara models valued at US$1.3 million (AED4.8 million) each.
The 11th edition of the show generated deals across the board,
with economy, mid-range, luxury and supercar exhibitors all reporting an
excellent response in terms of footfall, leads and sales, with many describing
their results on a par with the Motor Show boom year of 2007.
Jerod
Shelby, founder of Shelby Supercars (SSC), said the results of exhibiting at
the show were far greater than he could have imagined: “This
has been a huge show for us – we’ve sold ten cars, which is phenomenal. Our
expectation was nothing more than to create awareness of the brand in this
region and find a distributor, but this has been amazing. The business has been
outstanding.”
As the Dubai
International Motor Show closed its doors on an exceptional show, the event’s
global importance is becoming even more obvious to worldwide exhibitors: “Of
all the trade shows I’ve been to around the world, this has been phenomenal.
Breaking into a new market like this is a hard thing to do and this show has
been outstanding in helping us to achieve that. The exhibition and the
organisation has truly been world class,” said Alan
Leverett, Chief Administrative Officer, Shelby.
While the
Shelby sales made a new record for supercars, the 2011 show has also been a
sell-out success for many of the ultra-premium marques. Lamborghini, with the
regional launch of the exceptional Aventador LP 700-4, was among one of the
busiest in terms of both footfall and contracts, with well over AED17 million
worth of sales conducted during the course of the show.
“This
year was an exceptional motor show for us, and the sales results were well
above expectations. The world class quality and reputation of the Lamborghini
brand fits in perfectly with many of the visitors to the show. To have sold 14 models
from one of the most famous names in the motoring industry in five days is a
credit both to our brand and to the world class quality of the Dubai motor
show,” said Abdul Rehman Al Jaziri, Managing Director, Al Jaziri Motors,
exclusive distributors of Lamborghinis in the UAE.
For
Porsche, the star of the show was the redesigned 911 Carrera, which took centre
stage on a stand with some of the marque’s latest models. George Wills,
Managing Director of Porsche Middle East and Africa, said the show had been a
great platform: “As a result of a very busy show for Porsche, we now have
bulging order book for this truly head-turning vehicle.”
With many
manufacturers witnessing unprecedented levels of interest in their latest
models and groundbreaking technologies during the five day event, the show has
reflected a phenomenal year of growth for the automotive industry in the
region.
Over 100,000 visitors streamed into the Dubai
International Convention and Exhibition Centre over the course of the show which
covered more than 60,000 m² of exhibition space
with 150 companies participating from over 30 countries.
“The sales from this year’s Dubai International
Motor Show have surpassed the expectations of many of the exhibitors and
reflect the extremely high level of consumer confidence across the GCC in
general and the UAE in particular. From mid-size family saloons to some of the
unique supercars, we have seen some of the highest volumes of sales on the
stands in recent years and the number of worldwide launches and regional
premieres illustrate the show’s significance to the international motoring
industry,” said Helal Saeed Almarri, CEO, Dubai World Trade Centre, organiser
of the event.
With an impressive nine global launches and more
than 50 regional premiers, the five day
extravaganza included the latest and greatest from some of the world’s most
well-known motoring brands, including Audi,
Aston Martin, Bugatti, Bentley, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ferrari,
Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep, Kia, Lamborghini, Land Rover,
Lexus, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, McLaren, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Peugeot,
Renault, Rolls Royce, Toyota, Volkswagen and
Volvo.
"It is a reflection of the importance of the
Middle East market for General Motors that a vehicle as important as
TrailBlazer is making its global debut at this show,” said John Stadwick,
President and Managing Director of GM Middle East Operations.
Given that the Middle East luxury car segment is forecast to double
by 2015, high-end manufacturers were keen to connect with the receptive target
audience the show is famed for attracting. With sales signed and sealed on
almost every single stand, manufacturers were unanimous in their praise for the
show.
Commenting
on BMW Group’s participation, Joerg Breuer, Managing Director, BMW Group Middle
East said: “The Motor Show was a
well-organised event that was extremely successful for both our BMW and MINI
brands in terms of visitor’s response and sales. For BMW, we sold almost all
our BMW Individual Series Limited Edition cars produced to celebrate the UAE’s
40th anniversary.”
Manufacturers
in the mid-range segment were equally buoyed by the phenomenal success of the
show this year. Mark Kass, Regional Managing Director, Al-Futtaim outlined the
highlights of the show for Japanese manufacturer Honda: “It has been an extremely successful Motor Show
for us at Honda – both in terms of the visitor turnout and sales leads. We
revealed the 2012 Honda Pilot and Honda City, models that have been the
mainstay of not just the brand, but have been cars of choice for thousands of
UAE residents.”
French
automaker Peugeot reported keen interest from a broad range of visitors and
brisk trading. Jeremy Weatherill,
Divisional Manager for the company said:
“Dubai International Motor Show was a highly successful event for Peugeot
– we sold over 100 Peugeot 207 models at the show itself.”
Simon Frith, Managing Director
of Al-Futtaim Toyota agreed: “The Dubai International
Motor Show is the biggest event for the industry in the Middle East. Over the
years it has become a platform that enables us to interact with customers from
different age groups and backgrounds in a totally different way than the
classic showroom visits.”
With visitors thronging the
halls from the very first hour of opening, exhibitors enjoyed record crowds
with genuine interest on their respective stands. Chrysler’s Managing Director, Jack Rodencal
commented: “We are very pleased with the number of visitors this year. Dubai
International Motor Show is the best platform to showcase our unique models,
with sales at an all time high.”
Exhibitors
from all corners of the world, and all segments of the industry, were impressed
by the bi-annual automotive event and many have already committed to attend the
next edition in 2013.
James
Thomas, General Manager of Marketing and Corporate Communications at AW
Rostamani, official distributors for Nissan, Infiniti and MG said: “From both a sales and communications
standpoint we are delighted with the metrics achieved at this year’s show. With well over 1,000 serious enquiries across
the brands we represent, we look forward to another successful edition in
2013.”
Ara
Sahakian, Managing Partner of Off-Road Zone and recently appointed distributors
of Brembus, the world leader in design, development and production of high
performance brake systems, said: “This is the first time we have participated
in the Dubai Motor Show and it has exceeded all expectations in terms of
response from car enthusiasts, racing professionals and the trade from within
the UAE and the GCC. We look forward to participating again.”
The
next edition of the region’s largest and most influential motoring event will
take place in 2013, with the world’s major manufacturers already in the
planning stages for another opportunity to showcase their latest models to a
key market.
