If An Off-The-Rack Ferrari Won't Suit You

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

How do you grow your business if you are allowed to sell only 7,000 cars a year? Ferrari is in that tough spot. Last year, they sold 6,500 cars with the prancing horse. To protect Ferrari from being mistaken for a brand that everybody drives, a ceiling of 7,000 has been established. (Don’t ask me why 7,000.) So how do you grow your business if you can’t sell more cars? Simple: Charge more. “Personal touches like cashmere-covered seats and gold-colored exteriors” can add 20 to 60 percent to the price, writes Bloomberg.

Ferrari is late to jump on the customization bandwagon. Customization is not only a nice profit center for high-end carmakers, but also for down-to-earth brands like Volkswagen. Volkswagen Individual GmbH will be happy to sell you a lowly Golf at twice the price. Why leave money on the table for the customizers?

Back to Ferrari: What happens when 7,000 Ferraris get sold? Ferrari will stop making them until next year. UNLESS: Unless the waiting list extends beyond 18 months. Then, the “absolute limit” will be raised to 10,000 vehicles. Can’t say that Ferrari isn’t customer-centric.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Dwford Dwford on Oct 24, 2011

    I thought the limit was 4000 per year. That was years ago. Maybe they up the limit every time they introduce an additional model?

  • Spike_in_Brisbane Spike_in_Brisbane on Oct 24, 2011

    Do the four door Ferraris which are referred to as "Maseratis" come under a similar limit? Or, since Fiat owns 90% of Ferrari, can't they get their volume jollies by selling lots of Puntos or C200s?

  • Dolorean Dolorean on Oct 24, 2011

    Seems really ostentacious, conceited and elitest to me. Suppose thats what gobs o' money does to a person. This is today's equivalent of drinking a pearl in vinegar.

  • Wsn Wsn on Oct 24, 2011

    Sounds like US debt limit.

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