Ferrari plans to join Romanian race

The first Romanian Ferrari showroom will open in Bucharest next year and a servicing location for the Italian luxury brand will be established in the capital by the end of 2007, according to Herbert Stein, President of AutoItalia, importer of Ferrari for .

AutoItalia does not expect major sales in . “If we sell five cars a year, it will be a success,” Stein told Business Standard. However, he did not rule out the possibility of selling more than expected. “We have the Maserati precedent. When we brought the brand here, in 2005, we thought we would sell no more than 10 cars a year, but we sold 25 in the first year,” he said.

Stein explained that Ferrari and its main competitor, Lamborghini, follow each other onto new markets.  “If Lamborghini comes next year, Ferrari will follow. This is the Ferrari policy, to be present on every market where its direct competitor is,” Stein said. Earlier this year, Porsche officials had announced they will bring Lamborghini to Bucharest . Porsche is investing €10 million in a Lamborghini, premium Bentley, Porsche and Audi showroom.

Both brands will have servicing locations by the end of the year.  There are already at least seven Ferrari models in the country, and their owners will be able to have their cars serviced in .

This will also allow people transiting , and Bulgarians, to come for periodic revisions instead of going to Budapest , as they do at present, Stein added. AutoItalia is the importer of Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Lancia, Ssang Yong, as well as Honda motorcycles. Last year, the company sold over 10,000 units of all its cars and motorcycles, a record for the importer. It plans to sell 12,000-13,000 cars in 2007.

Stein explained that record sales in 2006 were due to the general increase on the market, and a rise of AutoItalia dealers to 25. The top sales were for Fiat Panda and utility cars, “the field in which we are the market leader,” he said. In the coming years, AutoItalia plans to increase to 30 dealers, in order to cover large cities.

The company will also have a new 9,500 sqm headquarters in the western area of Bucharest . The building, housing offices, a service and a spare parts warehouse, will be finished in 2008. The investment in the new building is worth some €10 million.