Ferrari sales at record levels, but business is tough

The world’s most iconic performance car brand had its most successful sales year ever, in 2019.

Although Ferrari has traditionally applied a policy of strict customer selection by controlling available vehicle supply, that appears to be relaxing.

Exclusivity is being replaced by the reality of supply and demand in relation to the famous cars from Maranello. When all the final delivery numbers for 2019 were totalled, Ferrari sold 10131 cars. This was the first time the Italian brand had ever managed to deliver more than 10000 cars in a year.

Ferrari’s record deliveries managed to net the company total revenues of R61bn. The baseline numbers might look impressive, but like many other car companies, Ferrari would rather forget about 2019 as a business year.

Despite record deliveries in 2019, Ferrarimade less money, which is an upsetting scenario afflicting many car companies. Revenue was up by 10%, yet profits were down by 11%, and ended up at R11.4bn for the year.

Of some relevance for local fans of the brand, was strong market growth for Ferrari in Europe, the Middle-East and Africa, with this clustered region up by 16%. Ferrari’s most important market, America, was down 3%, whilst its broader Chinese business (including Hong Kong and Taiwan) grew by an amazing 20%.

Ferrari will be adding more models in 2020 including an SUV, growing its product portfolio larger than ever before. Whether that will generate a surge in profits, remains to be seen.

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