The Paramera, Porsche's world premiere car at the Shanghai Auto Show, yesterday attracted a group of 20 wealthy individuals from Shanghai and Zhejiang. In less than half an hour, 19 of them made significant investments and placed orders.
Depending on the configuration, the price of this car ranges from 1.6 million to 2.5 million yuan. Its exclusive global debut left these wealthy individuals very impressed.
In fact, these wealthy individuals previously owned multiple luxury cars. Mr. Bu from the telecommunications sector told CBN reporters that he already owned a BMW, a Cayenne, and a Bentley. He chose the Paramera mainly because he wanted to drive a Porsche to work. Since he didn't want to drive himself, he needed a driver. Therefore, the current four-door Porsche Paramera perfectly met his requirements.
In recent years, it has been common for wealthy individuals to make large purchases at domestic auto shows.
He Jinbi, CEO of Maike Metal International Group, is one of them. At the 2007 Shanghai Auto Show, this wealthy individual from Shaanxi bought a Maybach, priced at 6.18 million yuan, which cost nearly 7 million yuan after adding the license plate and purchase tax. As China's "first person" in copper futures trading, He Jinbi stated that the rise in copper prices in 2006 laid the foundation for him to select a luxury car at the auto show.
For car buyers, the selection range at auto shows is large, and the styles are more novel. "We did not expect such a high proportion of pre-orders. Under the backdrop of the financial crisis, our original estimate was too conservative," Porsche officials told CBN reporters yesterday.
A staff member from Ferrari's PR company also mentioned that although the first two days of the auto show were media days, theoretically, no audience outside the media could attend. However, all major luxury car manufacturers invited some important guests to view the cars. "On the first day of the media event, we sold a limited edition Ferrari 16M sports car. The base price of this sports car is 5.118 million yuan, and the custom price will significantly increase," the aforementioned person said. A staff member from Maserati also revealed to CBN reporters that after closing yesterday, many batches of guests came to view and order cars. Regarding the order volume, he indicated that it was inconvenient to disclose.
Wealthy individuals purchasing cars have become a unique feature of China's auto show industry. Generally, top-tier luxury cars are introduced by domestic sales companies before the auto show and showcased collectively during the event. According to CBN reports, this group-buying event of 20 wealthy individuals from Shanghai and Zhejiang was organized by Porsche in collaboration with the magazine "Modern Gentleman." After the magazine released information about accepting group-buying applications during the auto show period, they received over 1,000 applications. "Even some second-generation wealthy individuals who are teenagers applied. We selected 20 mature car owners who truly had intentions," Xu Qun, publisher and editorial director of the magazine, told CBN reporters.
"After the adjustment of automobile purchase tax in September last year, the sales of luxury cars dropped significantly," Xu Qun believed. However, the adjustment of purchase tax was not the reason why wealthy individuals stopped buying luxury cars. The real reason was that the financial crisis made their consumption more rational. In previous auto shows, there were instances of group-buying Hummers. Some newly rich classes blindly chose models, but now characteristics of the car and whether it suits them have become factors they consider when selecting a car. This time, the main participants in the group-buying were accountants, private entrepreneurs, and corporate directors. Zhao Yi Source: The First Financial Daily