Super-luxury car market slows down in China

BEIJING: The super-luxury automobile segment endured a tough period in the once-heated Chinese sector last year as the country's most affluent hesitated to spend extravagantly amid slowing economic growth in the world's largest car market.

Major high-end automobile makers including Bentley, Ferrari and Lamborghini all posted shrinking sales last year despite their increased promotional effort, the Beijing News reported.

Bentley delivered a total of 2,191 cars to the Chinese market in 2013, a drop of 3 per cent year-on-year and bucking the company's 19 per cent rise globally.

Likewise, Ferrari sold 554 cars in China, marking almost a one-third decline, while Lamborghini's sales fell 16.7 per cent from the figure of 2012 to 267 units.

The lacklustre performance was mainly attributed to the country's slowing economic growth and the central government's advocacy of thrift.

In addition, the competition has become more fierce as nearly all the international luxury car brands have now entered China, a manager from a Maserati outlet in Beijing said.

Nevertheless, the potential of the world's second-largest economy is still highlighted by ultra-luxury makers as the European market remains sluggish and the United States still faces pressure following the withdrawal of quantitative easing, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Bentley added 15 auto dealers in the Chinese market last year, while Rolls-Royce developed seven more agencies.

Vehicle sales in China totalled 21.98 million units, marking its fifth straight year as the world's largest car market.