Italian brand Ferrari will enter the Indian market by January 2011. “We’ll open in India in January 2011,” said Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. He made the announcement about entering the Indian market at the recent ongoing Paris Auto Show. “Despite the crisis, we’ll close the year better than last year, close to record levels in terms of economic results,” Montezemolo said.

Asked about new markets, Montezemolo said the carmaker was currently present in 57 markets, adding the company was doing well in China.

Fiat Spa currently owns 85 percent of Ferrari and sells its own brand in India in association with Tata Motors.

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Source: cartradeindia.com

Ferrari 458 Italia

 The increasing appetite of Indian consumers which made the country’s automotive market explode over the past few years is ringing quite some bells in Europe, with more and more carmakers either expanding or setting up operations there.

Already present in the other Asian star market, the neighboring China. Italian manufacturer Ferrari is currently considering starting a dealership network in India. The company’s president Luca di Montezemolo said in an interview with BBC, cited by Business Standard, that the first Ferrari dealerships in the country will be opened in the next six to eight months.

Business Standard says the most likely locations for the dealerships will be New Delhi and Mumbai with the latter most likely to be the first one. In Mumbai, the dealership will most likely be located in South Mumbai. The Italians’ operation in the country would be managed through Tata Motors. The move would make sense both economically and on a more personal level, as Ratan Tata serves on the board of Fiat Auto. In fact Ratan Tata also drives the only known Ferrari California in existence in India.

Ferrari sold 68 vehicles in China for the January-April period, meaning it managed to double its sales in the country compared to 2009. Although a similar growth in India might be bit of a stretch, the carmaker can be hopeful it will leave its mark.

Ferrari’s entry into India comes at a time when other supercar manufacturers are making a beeline into India. Bugatti recently appointed its dealership together with distributor for India while Aston Martin too has appointed two dealers, both in Mumbai and New Delhi. A whole host of other supercar manufacturers too have shown interest in India so stay tuned to the latest information.

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Source: bsmotoring.com via autoevolution.com

The family owners of Italian car designer and niche manufacturer Pininfarina SpA have hired Italy’s Banca Leonardo to sell their majority stake in the company, a company source said Friday, the 7th of August.

The decision was taken at a board meeting on Wednesday, August 12th, the source said.

The sale of the 50.7 percent stake held by Pincar, the Pininfarina family company, was part of the debt agreement with banks at the end of 2008.

“It is a commitment Pincar made with the banks. The family has no intention of leaving completely,” the source said, adding Pincar would no longer be a majority shareholder.

Earlier this week, Pininfarina said Pincar had subscribed for its 50.7 percent share of a 70 million euros capital increase. The increase attracted overall 55.6 percent take-up.

The Pincar subscription to the rights issue was also part of the end-2008 agreement with banks, the source said.

Various companies have been suggested as possible partners for Pininfarina, which has designed cars for Ferrari. Pininfarina is working with French financier Vincent Bollore on developing an electric car.

Bollore has said he would consider taking a stake in Pininfarina. Libero said on Friday, August 7th, India’s Tata Motors Ltd, already allied with Fiat SpA, had been mentioned as an investor last year.

The source declined to say what possible buyers, whether they would be industrial or financial, or on the timetable for a deal.

Libero said that if a rival took more than a third of Pininfarina’s shares this would put at risk its contract with Ford Motor Co. to produce cars through April 2011.

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Source: reuters.com