Ferrari Tailors Its Cars to Its Consumers

In order to maintain its sense of exclusivity and specialness, Ferrari makes less than 7,000 cars a year. But that limits the company’s income and consumers still want to be sure their car is different from all others.

After all, when folks are shelling out $410,000 for a car, they want something special. That's why the Italian car manufacturer started a “'tailor made' personalization program” (called Ferrari Atelier) that could “add 20 percent to 60 percent to the price of a car,” Bloomberg notes.

“Being different is important for Ferrari buyers as these cars are all about status,” commented Rebecca Lindland, a IHS analyst in Norwalk, Connecticut, to Bloomberg. “It’s like showing up to a gala in the same dress — funny at first, annoying if it keeps happening.”

So you want cashmere-covered seats in your new Ferrari? A golden exterior? No problem. Bloomberg points out that luxury automaker Porsche, in contrast, is going in the opposite direction. It has added “a second sport-utility vehicle as it looks to double deliveries to at least 200,000 autos by 2018.”

Other high-end automaker’s also have customization programs, Bloomberg notes. Daimler AG’s Maybach “offers more than 2 million combinations of color, leather and accessories, such as an interior perfume atomizer and hand-braided seat piping,” while BMW’s Rolls-Royce “customizes about 90 percent of the orders for the $380,000 Phantom.”

“We shouldn’t be too surprised to see carmakers inventing new ways to charge more,” said Simon Empson, the managing director of U.K. auto website Broadspeed.com, to Bloomberg. “Personalization and individualism are two of the only defense mechanisms available.”

Back in the summer, meanwhile, Scuderia Ferrari driver Felipe Massa helped launch the Prancing Horse's latest Atelier, at The Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge, one of London's most prestigious 5-star luxury hotels: