Ferrari Set To Celebrate Its 999th Chinese Customer

Ferrari Set To Celebrate Its 999th Chinese Customer

Ferrari will deliver its 999th car in China on 14th January 2011 and the fact that in 2010 that the Italian supercar maker sold nearly 300 cars in the world’s largest car market illustrates how quickly its sales are growing in China, with 2010 sales up 50 per cent on its 2009 total, which was a record in its own right.

But why celebrate Ferrari’s 999th Chinese customer? Because in China the number 999 is considerably more auspicious than 1000 as the number nine is considered lucky and represents longevity.

It is also worth noting that this 999th sales benchmark does not include Hong Kong, which is counted, thanks to its different economic status, as a separate market and where Ferrari delivered its 999th car in 2009.

Ferrari’s success in China is the result of the attention the company has paid to the market in recent years, culminating in 2010 with the introduction of special, Chinese market dedicated initiatives. The structure of the official network has been strengthened and new partners have been selected to increase the number of dealerships from the current ten, with new dealers opening across China in coming months. This year will also see the start of the first Asian championship in the Ferrari Challenge single-make racing series, allowing Ferrari owners across China and neighbouring markets to go racing in their new Ferraris.

Ferrari’s commitment to this strategic market was further underlined in 2010 by the display of the Ferrari 599 HY-KERS technology concept car at the Shanghai World Expo in the Italian Pavilion and the launch of the Ferrari 599 GTO at the Beijing Auto Show, the first time Ferrari has held a world public debut in China.

Similarly a number of cultural initiatives further emphasized the strength of the ties between Ferrari and China, such as the scholarship programme dedicated to students from the Automotive Engineering faculty of Tsinghua University.

After studying at the Politecnico di Milano the students undertook an internship at Ferrari’s factory in Maranello. The programme will continue in 2011 and is financed thanks to another cultural partnership that with the Chinese artist Lu Hao who created a special one-off 599 GTB, painting the bodywork with a special technique that reproduced the effect of antique Ge Kin porcelain from the Song dynasty, which was sold at auction in Beijing.

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