The ultra-wealthy are buying more super-customized Rolls-Royces and Lamborghinis

Irvine, California
CNN
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Automakers like Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bentley and Rolls-Royce are doing well as the ultra-rich class grows and becomes wealthier, regardless of what's happening in the global economy as a whole. Lamborghini sold more than 10,000 vehicles last year for the first time in its history, and Ferrari posted a revenue increase of more than 17%. But making money selling a relatively small number of cars to a small group of people requires more and more creativity.

As a result, extreme levels of personalization are the norm in this niche of the automotive industry. Each buyer can not only choose interior and exterior colors from a menu, but also make sure their supercar or ultra-luxury SUV is like no other on the planet. In some cases, the wealthiest purchaser can even have a car built with her own small number, or even her single-digit number.

Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce and Bentley have surpassed their numbers with record sales of individually customized cars, in some cases costing double the already high base prices of these cars .

“We have limits.” [market] In terms of size and perspective [market] '' Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann said in an interview with CNN. “So we have to get the most out of every car.”

Ferrari's strong performance announced on Thursday was also due to the company's vehicle personalization program. Ferrari announced that its 2023 sales will be $6.46 billion and profits will be $1.36 billion. The company expects further growth in 2024 with the recently launched Purosangue SUV as it continues to cater to the most affluent car enthusiasts. The company's stock hit a 52-week high of $380 per share on Thursday morning. (The addition of seven-time champion F1 driver Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari's racing team may also have contributed to the price hike.)

These automakers sell to a small portion of the world's population, people who have at least $30 million or more in potential spending money. That's about 400,000 people worldwide, according to wealth research firm Altrata. Altrata predicts that by 2028, 528,000 of the world's 8 billion people will be in that class.

Javier González Lastra, an investment partner at luxury goods investment fund Tema ETF, said the market is growing in population, but the wealthy are also getting wealthier.

Global car sales rose about 9% last year, according to S&P. And with some exceptions, the most expensive brands are also growing. But for these brands, what might be an inconsequential number for a major automaker, such as 10,000 Lamborghinis or 13,000 Ferraris, can mean uncorking success.

With such a small number of cars, and not wanting to sell more or they would no longer be “exclusive,” these automakers offer features, options, and perks to this most affluent group of buyers. We're expanding the ways we upsell.

“Personalization and customization was actually the main driver behind our better-than-expected revenue over the year,” Gonzalez-Lastra said.

He spoke specifically about Ferrari, whose profits have increased significantly this year, but the same concept applies to other ultra-luxury automakers. To grow revenue, they need to justify charging wealthy customers more.

“Customers are rich, but they're not stupid. They have to capture the price increase,” he said. “To do that, you have to bring something new – a new model, some innovation, something different. Otherwise you end up customizing things for the client.”

Selling options is certainly not new in the auto industry. Even mainstream cars from brands like Volkswagen and Ford can be sold with many options, and this trend has been increasing in recent years. But Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce and Bentley customers get an even wider range of infinitely customizable products. First, the paint colors and interior materials are better than what the automaker offers to lower-end brands. Automakers rarely reveal specific prices for these highly customized cars.

In the most extreme cases, automakers may even build entire cars costing millions of dollars each for just a few customers.

But the type of customization available to customers of Lamborghini's Ad Persona program on Lamborghini's supercar models goes beyond simply choosing from a long list. Customers can request “paint-to-sample” colors that allow them to paint their car to match fabric, leather, or paint samples, for example.

For example, if a customer has a favorite shirt, you can match the paint on their car to the color of the fabric. But the idea goes beyond just matching clothes.

“You can even throw crushed Swarovski diamond dust into the paint with what I call 'micrometallics,'” says Pietro Frigerio, a former Lamborghini executive who now runs a Lamborghini dealership in Newport Beach, California. he said. .

He added that one reason the trend is growing in popularity is simply because technology is advancing. New paint means new possibilities.

Therefore, in addition to color, paints can be used to add countless effects and subtle tones. Buyers can also combine different effects of the same color to create subtle patterns and designs.

At last year's Art Basel Miami Beach event, Lamborghini unveiled the Revuelto supercar that appeared to be running in a stream of fluorescent paint. The car, which was sold to customers after the show, was created to show off the automaker's custom paint capabilities.

Last year, nearly three-quarters of Bentley customers requested custom options beyond the brand's already long list of options. This is a 43% increase over the previous year. Those luxury options can add about $75,000 to the price of a Bentley, executives said.

Of course, the more expensive the car, the more luxurious and potentially expensive the options can be. Rolls-Royce makes a number of Phantom sedans that are likely to cost several times the car's base price of about $500,000. These cars are built with features such as custom embroidery, intricate wood inlays, etched glass, and even hand-painted designs on the interior.

Kellyn Dixon, manager of the Rolls-Royce dealership in Irvine, Calif., was named two years ago for selling the most cars in the world through the brand's customization program, known as “Rolls-Royce Bespoke.” won an award. These cars are so highly customized that Dixon sometimes takes customers to Rolls-Royce's headquarters in Goodwood, England, to meet in person with the designers and create unique colors, decorations, and even embroidery and etchings. You may also make the final selection.

At Dixon's Rolls-Royce dealership, three-quarters of the approximately 90 cars sold each year include some degree of customization. There are options, she said. This includes off-menu paint her colors, certain objects sealed within “The Gallery”, a glass case built into the Phantom's dashboard, and intricate personal sculptures.

She and the Rolls-Royce design team can provide guidance, but ultimately the customer must make the choice.

“What's attractive to you may not be attractive to me,” she said. “And at the end of the day, it's your car. You're going to take delivery. But there are also some builds that are very specific and unique, and when the car is finished, the client likes the rendering. I hope you like it as much as I did.”

With Bugatti cars starting at $3 million, you might think owning one of these cars would be distinctive enough. But some customers want something more. Last year, Bugatti created a gold-painted Chiron for a customer in which the brand's designers hand-painted classic Bugatti historical scenes. In response to another request, Bugatti designers created contrasting striped paint schemes for the couple, one car blue and his the other orange.

In any case, most of these cars are hand-built, which allows for this degree of customization. Even without a lot of customization, it can take months between ordering a Lamborghini or Rolls-Royce and actually receiving the car.

Still, Lamborghini's Winkelmann said automakers need to do some balancing with production considerations.

“It definitely takes time,” he said. “Therefore, it is important to balance complexity with the opportunity to offer this to customers at the same time. Internally, we have ongoing discussions about where to invest to increase the opportunity for customers to purchase a unique car. It has been.”