Site Now In Italian, English, Japanese And Chinese#
With Chinese consumers becoming the world's second-largest luxury spenders in 2009, trailing only the Japanese, we've seen a rapidly increasing number of high-end brands incorporating the Chinese language into their websites. Although a large number of companies have offered traditional Chinese script -- used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and many overseas Chinese communities -- after buyers in these markets burst onto the luxury scene in the 1980s and 1990s, the rise in purchasing power among mainland Chinese has led to simplified script (used in the mainland since the 1950s) appearing as an option as well.
At the Shanghai World Expo this weekend, Ferrari announced the launch of its new Chinese-language site, following companies like Coach which have done the same in recent months. The growing China market has been very good for Ferrari, with the company selling a record 220 vehicles there last year (44% of them to women, interestingly enough), and it has increased its China outreach accordingly, creating a one-off Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorino China edition designed by Chinese contemporary artist Lu Hao and choosing the recent Beijing Auto Show to stage the world premiere of the 599 GTO.
From AutoEvolution:
"[The new Chinese-language Ferrari website] is further proof of the importance that the Chinese market represents for Ferrari and comes straight after the historic world premiere of the 599 GTO at the Beijing Auto Show and contemporaneously with the presentation of the Hybrid concept, the Hy-Kers, at the Expo’,” a company statement reads.
The website is dedicated to all its clients, enthusiasts and fans whose native language is Chinese, not only in China but all over the world. They can navigate the site content, enjoy live news updates from Maranello and discover interactive areas, exclusive images, complete information on all the cars, the F1 Scuderia, News, Community and the Ferrari Store.
Visitors can also take a virtual tour of the entire company thanks to video clips and other images. The site also allows users to select and personalize the cars in the current range.
Ferrari's official video introduction to the new Chinese site: