D’Ieteren is by far the most prominent car importer in the Belux and has now decided to regroup all its luxury brands under one umbrella, D’Ieteren Luxury Performance. The importer wants to streamline the (booming) business while also offering even better service.
Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Maserati, Porsche, and Rimac were gathered in the exclusive surroundings of La Reserve in Knokke while the Zoute Grand Prix event took place. An excellent opportunity for D’ieteren to invite its most affluent clients and let them dream about very special cars.
Almost one out of three real luxury cars is sold by the D’Ieteren holding. This means that the house is even more prominently present in this high-end luxury sector than in the broader market, where it represents almost one-fourth of total new-car imports.
High ambitions
It’s no coincidence that D’Ieteren wants to grow its luxury brands. The profit margin on such cars is huge and the market is feeling well. According to D’Ieteren, the top-end luxury market is expected to grow by 8 to 14% over the period up to 2030.
The importer has been fishing in this very lucrative pond for years. Seven of the nine Porsche dealers in Belgium are now D’Ieteren-owned, following its purchase of the famous dealer Carrera Motors in Sint-Martens-Latem, near Ghent.
Five months ago, it added Maserati to its luxury portfolio, overtaking the Brussels and Ghent dealerships from ACG (Tom De Bruyckere family). D’Ieteren wants the Trident brand to shine again, even though it’s not part of the Volkswagen Group (as are practically all other brands imported by D’Ieteren), but is part of Stellantis.
Streamlining and even more and better service
In Drogenbos, in the south of Brussels, the dealerships of Bentley, Lamborghini, and Porsche are already located there, and here is also the only Rimac showroom in the country. The Bentley dealer in the worldly commune of Knokke will soon get a Lamborghini companion.
Jean-François Bernaerts, Director of D’Ieteren Luxury Performance, emphasizes, nevertheless, that all brands remain separate, as is their personnel. He sees the collaboration in other fields. There are background services that can be run jointly, and the services offered to these special clients can still be expanded.
Talking to De Tijd, Bernaerts gives the example of clients who want their car kept ready for them at all times or transported to a distant race circuit. Those services can be provided. Other examples of possible ‘cross-fertilisation’: “A client steps into a Porsche showroom to buy a new Macan, but he doesn’t want an electric car… That’s a problem, because the new one is only electric. Those clients we are now able to offer a comparable Maserati Grecale, for example, running on petrol.”
The market for super-luxury cars remains hot, as evidenced by the success of the new, very exclusive Bugatti Tourbillon. The price of this jewel starts at €3.8 million. All six cars allocated to Belgium have already found buyers.
