I suppose it is good that there are now enough people with enough spending money in Pakistan to make Rolls Royce view it as a growth market (sadly it took over 50 years to get to this point).
On the other hand… if only this disposable money would be spent in Pakistan rather than going out to a foreign land.
The luxury motor firm, based in Goodwood, near Chichester, has seen world-wide demand for its Phantom model soar and has employed Dewan Motors as its exclusive outlet in Lahore.
Farooq Mustafa, President and Chief Operating Officer of Dewan Motors, said: "We are honoured to be representing the world’s ultimate automotive brand.
“We successfully open for business with our first customer order for a Phantom, taken a few weeks ago. The presence of Rolls-Royce in Pakistan is symbolic of the rapid growth taking place in the country.”
Further showrooms are planned for Karachi and Islamabad.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Managing Director for Europe and the Middle East, Axel Obermller, said: “This is an important step in our business development in the region.”
wanted to share some thoughts from ** abbas halai ** , a poster on metblogs.com 's lahore blog:
It is both exciting and alarming for a country like Pakistan. I have seen pictures of a RR phatom in karachi which belongs to the owner of the Jang Group. Discrepency between Rich and the poor is widening day by day. We need a muc stronger middle class which will only be achieved with more emphasis on education, stability, investment and better accountability
These so called 'show-rooms' are barely any 'investment', these are mainly the sale points... unless you call opening a 'sales-shop' as invesment.... yes that is 'investment' from one aspect, but only to mint money without giving back much to the society/country. If they were to establish a manufacturing plant/training center then that would be 'investment' from which country/society can benefit. These sale-points will only remove money from the country and fill the pockets outside.
Thats what Intl. companies are for: minting money out. In return, the society recieves an asset (cars). Your talking as if the cars have no value.
Its a luxury item, and there is demand for it. People who have money will buy it. If the government is so concerned about the money leaving the economy, they wouldn't have allowed these companies to enter into Pakistan.
Before these companies came, people imported such cars from abroad, paying some 100-150% tax on each item to the government. The tax procedure did not stop people from importing (and still hasn't), so they allowed some companies to 'start' off selling locally (lowering cost), to make people happy.
Right now they are selling in small numbers, but as the demand increases to a certain point, the companies will have to open up local assembly/manufacturing plants. Show-rooms is where the company start off from.
Whenever you start to understand 'return to society/country' let me know so we can talk about that then.
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Before these companies came, people imported such cars from abroad, paying some 100-150% tax on each item to the government. The tax procedure did not stop people from importing (and still hasn't), so they allowed some companies to 'start' off selling locally (lowering cost), to make people happy.
Right now they are selling in small numbers, but as the demand increases to a certain point, the companies will have to open up local assembly/manufacturing plants. Show-rooms is where the company start off from.
[/quote]
Did Rolls Royce production start in Saudi Arabia yet? America? Dubai? Japan? Let me know, thanks.
‘return to society/country’ has nothing to do with individuals spending their personal wealth on luxury items.
Did I say Rolls Royce? I said BMW, the whole company in general. It has plants in all of the countries mentioned above (minus those who themselves are in need of skilled workers).
When BMW entered America (over 3 decades ago), it started out with one dealership. Now it has dozens of assembly plants and dealerships across the country (as the demand grew).
Heres an article which clearly proves my point:
Egypt BMW reports record sales for 2005 in Egypt](http://www.ahkmena.com/Details_Front.asp?News=1111)
*According to press information, BMW reached for the year 2005 an all-time retail record with over 1,700 automobiles sold in Egypt.**According to press information, BMW reached for the year 2005 an all-time retail record with over 1,700 automobiles sold in Egypt. Also, this year the growth is continuing in Egypt with an increase of 22% of the sales in the first four months of 2006 in comparison with the same period last year. The success-story in Egypt corresponds with the results worldwide. BMW reports an overall retail volume with a total of more than 1.32 million vehicles worldwide. *
*The results for Egypt show that the premium automobile strategy fulfils the expectations of the customers here. *
*The BAG plant is proof of the successful partnership between the BMW Group and the Bavarian Auto Group. In the BAG plant, the BMW 3 Series and 5 Series are produced for the Egyptian Market and the production of the BMW X3 was added in March. BMW intends now to extend its activities in Egypt and to manufacture the BMW 7 Series near Cairo. The first vehicles will be able to be delivered to the customers in Egypt in September this year. *
Out of curiosity, does anyone have any sales figures for Porsche in Pakistan? I hope the showrooms aren't always this empty when they're not taking pictures;
I didn't say if there is anything wrong with spending personal wealth.
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Did I say Rolls Royce? I said BMW, the whole company in general. It has plants in all of the countries mentioned above (minus those who themselves are in need of skilled workers).
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And how did the thread turn into a 'BMW investing' from Rolls Royce?
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When BMW entered America (over 3 decades ago), it started out with one dealership. Now it has dozens of assembly plants and dealerships across the country (as the demand grew).
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Now read back my comments see if you can respond.
I guess new ways for corrupt people to celebrate thier hard earned cash are opening! but for the uncorrupt people who want one, its made things easier for them, that is if they wanted a rolls royce!!!
I agree.
I don't understand why people think that it is a sign of development & progress. Selling foreign goods in Pakistan can only be good and profitable if its creating enough jobs, if it is for manufacturing etc.
Just importing stuff and selling it, is actually a loss
^^ This is where it starts from. First there was one BMW dealerships, now they are expanding, and if it expands wide enough, assembly/manufacturing plants may open up. Did you bother reading the article I posted?
There are quite alot of rich people in Pakistan... They will import these cars from abroad no matter what. If we have a proper dealership in Pakistan, atleast they wont bother importing it just like that, and having a dealership in Pakistan is ALOT better, for them (they will save quite alot of money), and the dealership (who ofcourse gets its due share), as well as the country, the prestige of having a top motor company's dealership outlet, providing jobs etc, and naturally such dealerships open authorized repair shops and hire quality repair personel and technicians/mechanics, and open spare part outlets for their brand.
