Women, young men eye fancy cars

Many customers are entrepreneurs who have overseas exposure and prefer to drive themselves

"Let me guess. I bet it belongs to a Chinese lady," says Nigel Lofkin, factory tour guide and former leather trimmer of British premium brand Bentley, when he stops by a woman who was stitching a small blooming orchid onto a piece of garnet leather for a car seat.

He bends over to check the information on the back of the leather and chuckles.

"Bingo! It's for a Bentley Continental GT going to China. And I think the flower represents the name of the owner, a woman," says Lofkin.

"Actually, my colleagues and I, in every department here (at Bentley's headquarters in Crewe, in the United Kingdom), are quite familiar with Chinese elements and some representative characters, because almost every day we prepare cars for Chinese customers.

"And we realized from some interesting tailor-made requirements that more of them will be delivered to female and younger customers than to any other groups in any corner of the globe," he adds.

China has become an attractive market not only for the surging sales of ultra premium vehicles in recent years.

"We do see many interesting characteristics among our Chinese customers," says Torsten Muller-Otvos, CEO of British royal family-favored luxury automaker Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

"Our Rolls-Royce car owners in China are 5 to 10 years younger than the average age globally. They are young, wealthy and trendy Chinese. And 10 percent are women," he says.

"What impressed us more in recent years is the change in our Chinese customers. More of them have started to drive their Rolls-Royce cars by themselves at the weekend, touring with their families," he says. "It's different from the original chauffeur-driven image for the Spirit of Ecstasy."

According to Muller-Otvos, most of his Chinese clients are motivated young entrepreneurs. "Most of them have overseas study experience," he says.

The younger and self-driving trend of Chinese customers in recent years has even influenced Rolls Royce's marketing and product strategy for China, its second-largest market, which contributes around 30 percent of total sales.

Rolls-Royce celebrated the Asia-Pacific debut of Wraith, the most powerful, dynamic two-door sports car in the ultra luxury brand's 109-year history, at AutoChina Shanghai in April.

"We have taken great pleasure in introducing the new generation of successful Asian entrepreneurs to Rolls-Royce ownership in recent years. Wraith promises to build on this success, forming a key part of our plans for sustainable growth in the region," says Muller-Otvos.

"I have every confidence the car's marriage of dynamism, bold styling and luxury will broaden the marque's appeal further, attracting even more successful and confident Asian younger men and women to Rolls-Royce in the future, satisfying their requirement for dynamic driving."

Although the first deliveries of Wraith to Chinese customers are expected in the fourth quarter, Muller-Otvos says he is confident there will be an increasing number of rich young entrepreneurs in China, a highly important market for the marque. "We are cautiously optimistic about our business in China in 2013. I would not be surprised to see China as our No 1 market this year."

Bentley also says the average age of its Chinese customers is 35, compared with the global average of 45 and the US average of 61.

"We have many fans of our Continental GT V8 two-door grand touring coupe who are Chinese women, as well as young men in their 20s," says Lofkin. However, "A Bentley is always the choice as the last car in life of a US rich person.

"The large number of female customers from China made us pay a lot of attention to their different habits and requirements."

Lofkin tells China Daily that although the headquarters are in the UK, Bentley engineers have researched and then designed special colors for Chinese women, including pearl pink and dragon red.

In 2012, Bentley for the first time designed a special course for female drivers as part of its driving experience marketing initiatives in China, encouraging more women customers to try out the pleasure of driving the powerful sports car.

Italian sports car producer Ferrari SpA CEO Amedeo Felisa also recognizes the younger ages of Chinese customers and the different gender ratios.

"We noticed our Chinese customers' ages are 10 years less than the world average. And 25 percent of them are no more than 30. Moreover, the share of women owners is larger than other markets in the world," he says.

According to Felisa, 20 percent of the Prancing Horse model's customers are female in its second-largest market in the world, while the global average percentage is only seven.

"We see more female entrepreneurs, celebrities and artists here in China who are greatly attracted by the dynamism and style of Ferrari sports cars," says Felisa.

Luca di Montezemolo, chairman of the Italian sports car brand also says Ferrari will put more effort into China sales, seeking to attract the country's growing new rich.

He expects China and the United States together will contribute 12 percent more to the company's turnover over the next five years, to weather the waning European market, which is still suffering from economic crisis.

Another Italian sports car brand, Lamborghini, has also enjoyed huge success in the world's largest automobile market, thanks to the enthusiasm of China's younger new rich for luxury cars.

"It's very interesting that our Chinese customers are much younger than the average in other countries," says Stephan Winkelmann, president and CEO of Lamborghini.

The Raging Bull model had a more than tenfold sales rise in five years in China - from 28 in 2007 to 320 in 2012.

"The trend for Chinese super sports car customers to be younger is one of the key factors driving the boom. Nothing is better than that for us," says Winkelmann. "The more younger customers become aware of and accept our brand, the longer they maintain their loyalty to Lamborghini."

Global information and consulting company Nielsen Co divided China's luxury car buyers in its research into five segments, which explains in detail the young age of the premium vehicle customers.

Brand enthusiasts, the largest group, accounting for 27 percent of luxury car sales, are mainly male and between 30 and 39 years old. They have a stronger brand preference, prioritizing brand originality and functional performance in their consideration of vehicles.

Technology upgraders follow with a 24 percent share, typically in the same age group and male. They see themselves as trend leaders and are most willing to pay for advanced features and technology in their car choices.

Business leaders, making up 18 percent of luxury car sales, are mature and accomplished business owners and executives, aged between 35 and 45 and look for cars that provide social recognition and better comfort.

The youngest group, representing value seekers, accounts for 18 percent of luxury car sales and tend to be aged 25 to 35. They are usually first-time luxury car buyers and many of them are female.

"These customers want a car with a luxurious image, but what really drives their decision is how much value it offers in terms of feature diversity and price competitiveness," says Ganesh Relekar, director of automotive research at Nielsen China.

The fifth segment is image pursuers, who make up around 13 percent of buyers and are aged 30 to 39. These luxury car buyers look for a car that makes a personal statement and enhances their social image.

lifangfang@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 06/28/2013 page14)