Monday, December 5, 2011

Dubai International Motor Show 2011 reported spectacular sales

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 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.