VFACTS: Supercar sales soar

ECONOMIC confidence at the top end of town showed no sign of waning in 2015, if sales of dream machines are any guide.

Italy’s big two supercar-builders, Ferrari and Lamborghini, led the charge, with year-on-year sales jumping 47.8 per cent and 211 per cent respectively over 2014 figures.

Ferrari ended the year with a record 167 sales, while Lamborghini re-wrote its own record with 84 sales, even though it did not score a sale in December as stock shipments dried up.

Growth at Ferrari has most likely come from the new-ish California T, which has been a sell-out success.

Like Ferrari, Lamborghini does not break down sales by model in the official VFACTS sales data, but the new Huracan coupe is likely to have been the major influence.

Lamborghini’s sales also received a boost with the opening of a new Brisbane showroom in August, extending its reach beyond its traditional hunting grounds of Melbourne and Sydney.

Britain’s McLaren also enjoyed a substantial lift in 2015 – up 38.5 per cent, to 36 units – while Aston Martin sales rose 21.5 per cent, to 130 units.

While Porsche sales rocketed up 45.4 per cent last year, most of the growth came from its entry level SUV, the Macan. The iconic 911 basically marked time in 2015, with sales up just 3.0 per cent, to 377 units, as many would-be owners awaited the arrival this year of a facelifted model with new turbo engines.

At Maserati, most of the 29.4 per cent volume increase also came from the bottom end, with the Ghibli accounting for 345 of the brand’s 519 sales last year.

Overall, sales of sportscars priced above $200,000 in Australia grew 17.3 per cent in 2015, well above the general growth rate of 3.8 per cent.

In the super-luxury limo market, Bentley was the standout, with 158 sales representing 17 per cent growth in 2015.

By contrast, Rolls-Royce took a 23 per cent hit, selling 30 vehicles in 2015 compared with 39 the year before.