Lamborghini opens new Singapore showroom

Singapore

ITALIAN sports-car maker Lamborghini on Friday opened its new showroom, which replaces the previous showroom at Suntec City.

Situated in the Alexandra automotive belt, the new facility has an area of 5,705 square feet, more than twice the size of its previous set-up, with the capacity to display more cars on the show floor, as well as improved customer and aftersales service. Lamborghini executives declined to put an exact figure on the cost of the new showroom, but said it represented a very significant investment.

Federico Foschini, chief commercial officer for Lamborghini, told The Business Times: "Singapore is not just another place for Lamborghini, it's the centre of the Asia- Pacific region for us, and an important market, so it should be in line with the latest things Lamborghini is implementing globally."

One novel feature of the showroom is a distinctly hands-on experience: A customer lounge includes a car configurator, so that buyers can both look and touch samples of interior materials and finishes.

Like luxury and sports-car makers, Lamborghini allows clients extensive customisation of their vehicles above and beyond the ordinary, thorough an exclusive programme, called Ad Personam.

Lamborghini's shiny new showroom also arrives amid a wave of sales growth driven by its newest model, the Urus sport utility vehicle (SUV), touted as the fastest vehicle of its kind in the world.

It's also expanding its dealer network. October 2017 saw two new dealerships in North America, and a new showroom in Hong Kong, a 3,000 sq-ft facility in Wanchai's arty Star Street Precinct.

"It's an important moment for Lamborghini now," said Matteo Ortenzi, Lamborghini's CEO for Asia-Pacific. " There's a major new product, the Urus, and we're seeing major growth of the brand. So it's an important new statement for Lamborghini."

The Urus, previewed here in December last year, is expected to drive Lamborghini's global sales to double its 2017 figure of 3,815, and it's expecting similar growth from both the Asia-Pacific region and Singapore.

If Singapore is anything to go by, the brand should have no trouble achieving that. Mr Ortenzi says Singapore's 2018 allocation of the Urus has been sold out, with "40 to 50" units already spoken for.

That means Lamborghini should easily record more than double its 2017 registration of 18 cars when Urus deliveries begin in September. Even without the Urus, as of April 2018, it's already registered 14 cars.

Mr Ortenzi says another aspect of the new showroom is to ensure new customers are well taken care of. The Urus breaks into a new segment for Lamborghini with customers who are newcomers to the brand.

"We are going beyond our usual customer base in a way, as 70 per cent of Urus customers are from other brands, and we have to do our utmost to serve them in the best way possible," he said.