Abu Dhabi Motors Rolls-Royce sales move back into the fast lane

About 95 per cent of the inventory at Abu Dhabi Motors is bespoke. Delores Johnson / The National

Sales of Rolls-Royce cars at Abu Dhabi Motors (ADM) have jumped 22 per cent so far this year compared to the same period in 2016, even as the wider car sector continued to suffer.

The capital’s only Rolls-Royce dealer has experienced a rebound from last year, when sales dropped below the level of 2015.

Nearly 95 per cent of the inventory in the capital’s dealership is bespoke, pre-ordered by ADM, tailored for its demanding clientele.

“The rich are still rich and a Rolls-Royce is still a Rolls- Royce,” said Arno Husselmann, the general manager of ADM. “Since the Black Badge was launched at the end of 2016 the Wraith has become our most popular model. Margins are still good but people with money negotiate better, it is their strength. Rolls-Royce has no natural competition and we outsell any car that comes close quite comfortably. The Wraith is our biggest seller, then the Ghost then the Phantom, but a basic Phantom starts at Dh2.5 million before any bespoke options have been added so those buyers are rarer.”

New car sales across the UAE have fallen by up to 30 per cent this year as job losses in the energy and banking sectors feed consumer uncertainty. Many dealerships have cut sales staff and are faced with an oversupply of inventory.

“When you are scared of losing your job the last thing you will buy is a new car,” said Bill Car­ter, deputy general manager for Autodata ME. “We believe the industry will see losses of up to 30 per cent on last year, which was not a good year for many dealers. I think we will see a lot of smaller dealers being forced out of the industry as margins have been cut so far.”

Mr Husselmann believes ADM’s service package has been key to keeping and growing its customer base. The new service package was introduced last year at ADM’s neighbouring BMW dealership with record-breaking sales of 14,845. He expects that to grow to 15,000 this year.

“Profit margins have been cut but we are still profitable,” he said. “We are growing because we are taking business from our competitors. We now have the best service package avail­able as standard ‘Inclusive Plus’ package covers routine services for eight years and/or 160,000 kms and the BMW Repair Inclusive package covers five years and/or 200,000 kms.”