Dubai has been home to the world’s best-selling Porsche dealership for a decade, but it’s time on top of the podium might be coming to an end. That’s because Porsche dealers in China are powering through the field, according to the CEO of Dubai’s Porsche dealership.
The Porsche Centre Dubai, Al Nabooda Automobiles, was identified as the world’s best-selling single dealer for the luxury German sports car, for the ninth consecutive year in 2013.
The sole distributor for Porsche in Dubai sold 1,892 cars in 2013, 14 per cent more than in 2012. However, the boss of the Dubai dealership is expecting a race for top spot in the future.
K Rajaram, CEO of Al Nabooda Automobiles – dealers for Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen in Dubai and the Northern Emirates – told 7DAYS: “China. They’re going to take me on soon, let me tell you, I think maybe this year”.
According to Porsche’s Annual Report 2014, China represented the firm’s second-largest sales market after the US with 46,931 new vehicle deliveries. It also recorded the largest growth of all Porsche markets – 25 per cent.
Meanwhile, the German carmaker expanded its dealer network across China last year, opening an additional 14 Porsche Centres, taking it to a total of 79. “Look at the size. Two streets in Shanghai is the whole of Dubai”, Rajaram said.
“OK we’ve competed so long, for nine years we’ve been the world’s largest dealership, but things will change now”, he predicted.
The auto boss also revealed that vehicle sales have slowed down. Al Nabooda Automobiles sold 1,860 Porsche vehicles in Dubai and the Northern Emirates in 2014, while also opening doors to one of the world’s largest showrooms for the brand worth a whopping Dhs144 million.
“It [car sales] are down”, Rajaram said, speaking of the market overall. “Oil is down at $55 – $60 a barrel, you’re hearing all these things about the real estate market slowing down, reports in papers on a day-to-day basis, the stock market’s not doing too well… so I think people are just a tad worried that something will hit them again. I think they’re just taking it easy”.
However, he remains optimistic that recent promotions will spur buyers into snatching the best deals.
“You see all the ads now? Three years free service, five years free service… every son and his mother is in the same thing, trying to get the customer to make up his mind. You’ve seen during Ramadan all these offers that come up, a tremendous amount of offers. I think a lot of customers also know that during Ramadan [there are many offers], I think they’re waiting. Let us hope I’m right”.