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Mike Sinclair20 Apr 2014
NEWS

Lamborghini gears up Down Under

Fresh start and factory regional involvement for the ‘other' supercar brand

Lamborghini has positioned itself for a new beginning Down Under.

With a refocussed and repositioned dealer line-up and regional factory representation, the ‘other’ supercar brand is looking toward better results from the Australian marketplace. And the all-new Huracan will be the brand’s weapon of choice, according to Automobili Lamborghini’s Head of Operations South-East Asia and Pacific, Sebastien Henry.

Henry was in Australia this week to host Lamborghini Esperienza, an event held at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Victoria that gave around 70 prospective Lamborghini buyers the opportunity to drive a (small) fleet of Aventadors on the seaside circuit.

Esperienza is the first event of its type hosted by the factory in Australia and featured not only cars (see above) but also key Lamborghini staff including Lamborghini Academy driving school personnel.

Henry says it won’t be the last. The investment is an indication the Lamborghini HQ is now comfortable with the retail face of the brand across the country.

“That’s why it was [important] starting with the dealer network... which is now, in my opinion, solid enough to bring these events,” he explained. “I quite agree that maybe in the past, this kind of event would have been nearly useless. Because if you don’t have basic network solidity, you can do as many events as you want [but] you’re not going to convince the clients.

“Now we know we have good partners that are able to service the cars and take care of customers in a good way. Now that we have this, we push full throttle.”

Lamborghini has followed international branding protocols to label its local dealerships, and now has factory standard representation in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. The new Lamborghini Sydney is open for business but plans are underway to have the operation officially ‘blessed’ by Stephan Winkelmann, President and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini.

Winkelmann’s next visit to Australia is yet to be locked in, but Henry says he’s aiming for later this year – in time for the first Huracan demonstrators’ arrival Down Under in September.

In the last five years Lamborghini local annual sales have increased from 26 to a peak of 47 in 2013. By way of contrast, archrival Ferrari’s local sales have been as high as 134 units (in 2011). Globally team red’s sales are almost three times the size of Lamborghini.

The Gallardo replacement is key for the brand’s growth Down Under as well as, Henry says, a perception changer for the brand. To this end the brand hosted three ‘no camera’ private ‘pre-sales’ events in Australia in early 2014 ahead of the car’s official unveiling at the Geneva show in March.

Henry says the events were successful but would not specify the number of orders local dealers had on their books. Across the globe, the first year of Huracan production is already sold out.

“We were convinced that the Huracan would attract a wider audience than the Gallardo... [Via the local pre-reveal events] we could not draw all [of our prospects], but enough for our first ‘circle’. For sure now we need to build a second ‘circle’ [of buyers]”.

Henry says getting prospects to drive Huracan is a focus – and not just at the racetrack.

“[Buyers] know whether [the Huracan] is performing, but... is it easy to drive not on the racetrack? Is it going to be comfortable? Is it going to be easy to drive in the city centre?

“Gallardo is the most successful model we had... More than 13,000 units in total, which is more or less half of the entire number of cars we’ve produced in all 51 years. But the Huracan has more performance on one side and at the same time, it’s easier to drive.

“We are expecting that we’ll sell more every year than the Gallardo. And the production line is able to produce more -- if we have demand.

“Of course my job and my colleagues in the commercial department is to make sure we have [that] demand,” he joked.

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