How is it to sell ultra-expensive cars in these times?
So, who is the person most affected by the economic slowdown? Difficult question? Well, Alasdair M Stewart would slowly raise his hand and say “It’s me”, with a dry smile. Want to know why? For starters, he is the director (marketing and sales) for Bugatti Automobiles SAS. In case you still need further introduction to Bugatti, this history-laden firm from Molsheim, France — which is now under Volkswagen stewardship — builds quite simply the “fastest production car on earth”. And his sales target for this year? Ahem, just 50 cars.
It will all start making sense when you know that every Bugatti Veyrons is tagged at the wrong side of ¤1.2 million apiece. “It helps that ours is a two-model car company now,” Stewart says. Sure, the Veyron’s top was chopped to launch the second model, the Grand Sport. It has helped him considerably because there are a few rich people out there who want to ensure that the world can see them driving a terribly fast piece of kit.
Stewart and his team had a target of just 300 cars and 250 have moved already. How difficult was moving those 250 cars? “Well, times were better and we even had repeat buyers,” says Stewart. Wait a minute, there are people who buy more than one Veyron? “You will be surprised. Some are collectors who want both the coupe and the Grand Sport in their garage.” Stewart points at the convertible on display in the Bugatti pavilion at the ongoing Geneva Motor Show, which, incidentally, features a top that folds down just like an umbrella. A square umbrella.
Does he get affected by the negative news pouring out of television and pink papers daily? “Yes I do, but I do know that there are always enough people with enough money.” So how does he operate? “We follow leads.” Does that mean he has to hard-sell the sixteen-cylinder 7,993 cc mother of all supercars? “We do have to find the buyers, yes.” So what, according to the salesman of the fastest car in the world, is a good monthly sales target? “Oh yes, I would say 4-5 fixed deals a month is indeed a good month for these times.”
It was time to stretch the meeting, so I ask him the company’s plans. “Bugatti is celebrating its 100th year of existence and we have a big party planned for September 13. We will be present at a couple of premium vintage shows, including the Pebble Beach (in California). And then we are inviting all our customers to our headquarters (only 250 of them…) and we will show them something interesting.” So will he have a third model to sell to a world, in all probability, just about recovering from the economic slowdown? Stewart smiles and does not answer the question.
It is time to go and I have my most important question for Stewart. “Look, it is not easy to sell 1,001 bhp cars that can do 400 kph and cost lots of money. So, if a prospective customer with questionable credentials comes with cash to buy one of your cars, would you sell it to him?” I expected him to reply with a resounding no when confronted with this question, but the response was interesting. “They won’t come to me directly. We normally do not deal with brokers or resellers. But we can’t ignore them in our business, since they are the ones with ‘good contacts’. So, we may sell to a reseller who in turn might sell again to anyone he likes. So, if a car lands in the hands of a shady arms dealer, we wouldn’t have sold it to him directly.”
“Has any Indian touched 400 kph on a Veyron?” This question was raised with the hope that I could be that Indian if Stewart wants me to. “Yes, an Indian businessman based in the UK came to us and we did a 400 kph run for him. And you cannot do that, since we have stopped offering 400 kph rides to journalists.” Sigh.
Before we part ways, Stewart proves that car salesmen — whether they are selling used cars or the world’s fastest set of wheels — are all the same. “Do you know why we cannot sell Bugatti Veyrons in India? Because we do not have right-hand drive cars and it is illegal to sell left-hand drive cars in India. But tell me, is there a market for these cars in India?” Tough job indeed.
