Ferrari, Maserati roar back into SA market

Ferrari and Maserati will re-enter Adelaide's new car market early next year on the back of a boom in luxury car sales across the country. Solitaire Automotive Group will unveil a new state-of-the-art Maserati showroom in the first quarter of next year after winning exclusive dealership rights for the Trident brand, while Adelaide Motors is finalising designs for its Ferrari showroom which is due to open on Hindley St soon after.

The Fiat stablemates have been absent from Adelaide's new car market since November 2011, when previous dealer Prestige Formula was downgraded. Strict guidelines from their Italian headquarters have meant a lengthy design process for the new boutique showrooms.

Solitaire Maserati will be located at the former Lexus site at Parkside - part of a plan to deliver an eightfold increase in SA sales by 2016. Solitaire managing director David Smoker said Maserati was a good fit with the dealer's other luxury brands which included Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar and Land Rover.

'We've had a fair bit of success with our luxury sports brands - the people of Adelaide have an appreciation for luxury sports cars," he said. Sales of supercars in Australia are up 72 per cent since the lows of the global financial crisis with enthusiasts snapping up more than 190 exotic cars per month this year.

In the first 10 months of this year a total of 85 new cars were sold across the Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Lotus, Maserati, McLaren and Porsche brands in South Australia - up 12 per cent from last year. Maserati's ambitious three-year plan to reach annual Australian sales of 1350 vehicles will be led by two new four door models - the Quattroporte and the Ghibli which will both be on show at the new Solitaire showroom.

The sedans will be followed by the 2015 launch of the Levante, a high performance SUV. However, according to Ferrari Australasia chief executive Herbert Appleroth, the prancing horse is taking a slightly different approach, keeping a close eye on volumes as it seeks greater exclusivity.

'While we have reduced our global production down from 7500 cars to 7000 in 2013, the Australasian deliveries will be similar in 2013 as compared to 2012," he said. 'We expect South Australia to see high levels of growth as we have not been represented in Adelaide for a number of years." Maserati owner Pam Russo expects the new four-door range to strike a chord with Adelaide buyers.

I'm a believer that everyone deserves a little luxury and in my family's case it's a Maserati," she said.