Rolls-Royce has little concern that the global economic crisis will hurt the pockets of its growing ultra-wealthy customer base outside Europe.
The luxury car brand owned by BMW plans to increase outlets by 14 per cent within five years, it said yesterday.
The car maker, based in Britain, targets expanding the number of dealers to 120 from 105 to reach millionaires in markets such as Chile, Thailand and Vietnam.
Unfazed by Europe's debt crisis, Rolls-Royce expects the updated version of its US$380,000 (Dh1.4 million) Phantom saloon will help it reach a second consecutive sales record this year after delivering 3,538 cars last year.
"I am very confident that we'll sell at least one more this year," said Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, the chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
Rolls-Royce, which also makes the $246,500 Ghost and competes with Volkswagen's Bentley, is counting on growing wealth in Asia and South America to fuel demand as the debt crisis dents sentiment among Europe's rich.
The number of households with more than $5m in assets is set to grow by 3 to 5 per cent annually in the coming years, creating new potential customers for the brand, Mr Mueller-Oetvoes said.
"Of course, we feel that the mood isn't the best in certain markets, but we're able to compensate" with growth in places such as Russia, the Middle East and China, he said. "Our goal is to grow sustainably and not chase volume. Rolls-Royce will remain exceptional."
The brand's deliveries dropped 14 per cent to 726 cars in the third quarter, burdened by the changeover to the Phantom Series II in September. Through the first nine months of this year, sales were down 4.7 per cent to 2,326 vehicles.
After updating the Phantom this year, Rolls-Royce plans to extend its lineup with a new model variant next year to broaden the brand's appeal, Mr Mueller-Oetvoes said, declining to provide details.
"If you look at Rolls-Royce and Bentley, they continue to add variants that will bring in new customers, and China should help support the segment," even if developed markets slump, said George Galliers, an analyst with Credit Suisse in London.
To target the growing numbers of Chinese buyers, Rolls-Royce created a $1.2m Year of the Dragon Phantom model for China this year. The special edition features a gold dragon hand-painted on the side of each wheelbase, the mythical creature embroidered on headrests, and hand-stitched cushions for rear passengers. The version was sold out within two months.
At the other end of the market, Hyundai, South Korea's biggest car maker, plans to increase production in China by 40 per cent in three years and add higher-end models as it seeks to gain market share in the world's largest market.
Beijing Hyundai Motor, its passenger-car venture with Beijing Automotive Group, will boost production to 1.4 million units by 2015 and double the ratio of mid- to high-end products to more than 50 per cent during the period, the company said yesterday.
Passenger-vehicle sales in the nation will expand by an average 8 per cent a year to reach 22 million units in 2020, driven by demand for sport-utility vehicles and rising incomes in smaller cities, according to McKinsey & Co.
The maker of the Elantra saloon and Santa Fe sport-utility vehicle increased China sales 11 per cent to 676,746 units in the first 10 months of this year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, putting it on pace to exceed the 739,800 units sold last year.
The car maker, which currently operates three factories in the country with a total capacity of 1 million units, produced its 4-millionth car on Monday, it said.
In Japan, Takanobu Ito, the Honda chief executive, wants to boost the car maker's exports from the United States to counterbalance the effects of the strong yen, he said on Monday.
"Our US plants export just 6 to 7 per cent of production. But they should be able to do more than that," Mr Ito told The Wall Street Journal.
"If there's enough demand from other regions for larger vehicles, then closer to 20 per cent is conceivable," he added.
Last year, Honda exported 55,000 vehicles from North America.
* compiled from Bloomberg News and AFP
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
Company%20Profile
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TUESDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 2pm:
Malin Cilic (CRO) v Benoit Paire (FRA) [8]
Not before 4pm:
Dan Evans (GBR) v Fabio Fogini (ITA) [4]
Not before 7pm:
Pablo Carreno Busta (SPA) v Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) [2]
Roberto Bautista Agut (SPA) [5] v Jan-Lennard Struff (GER)
Court One
Starting at 2pm
Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND) v Dennis Novak (AUT)
Joao Sousa (POR) v Filip Krajinovic (SRB)
Not before 5pm:
Rajeev Ram (USA) and Joe Salisbury (GBR) [1] v Marin Cilic v Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Nikoloz Basilashvili v Ricardas Berankis (LTU)
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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Match info
Liverpool 3
Hoedt (10' og), Matip (21'), Salah (45 3')
Southampton 0
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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What%20is%20Dungeons%20%26%20Dragons%3F%20
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Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Profile box
Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim
Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
Current staff: more than 160 employees
Stage: series D
Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India
Company%20profile
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Stats at a glance:
Cost: 1.05 billion pounds (Dh 4.8 billion)
Number in service: 6
Complement 191 (space for up to 285)
Top speed: over 32 knots
Range: Over 7,000 nautical miles
Length 152.4 m
Displacement: 8,700 tonnes
Beam: 21.2 m
Draught: 7.4 m
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Ant-Man%20and%20the%20Wasp%3A%20Quantumania
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MEYDAN CARD
6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group One (PA) US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,200m
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) $100,000 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm Singspiel Stakes Group Two (TB) $250,000 (T) 1,800m
8.50pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
9.25pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group Two (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,600m
10pm Dubai Trophy Conditions (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,200m
10.35pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
The National selections:
6.30pm AF Alwajel
7.05pm Ekhtiyaar
7.40pm First View
8.15pm Benbatl
8.50pm Zakouski
9.25pm: Kimbear
10pm: Chasing Dreams
10.35pm: Good Fortune