Supercar Dealer Sets Record Profits During The COVID-19 Pandemic: Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin And Lamborghini Are Selling Well

Ilustrasi supercar. (Wikimedia Commons / Axion23 / Spielvogel / Alexandre Prévot / Zacke82 / Brian Snelson / Clément Bucco-Lechat - Kolase / VOI)

JAKARTA - A luxury car dealership reported high demand from the ultra-rich for supercars such as Aston Martin, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce amid the COVID-19 pandemic, generating more than seven times profits.

Dealer HR Owen, located in west London, England, reported a profit before tax of £13.7 million or USD 18.4 million, equivalent to IDR 263.681.483.457 for the year to June, compared to £1.9 million or IDR 36.568.964.859 in 2020.

That figure also exceeds the reception before the spread of the coronavirus. The dealership, founded in 1932 by former Royal Flying Corps officer Harold Owen and owning 17 of the chain, also sells Bentley, Bugatti, and Maserati.

The dealer is also the UK retailer of Rimac's upcoming electric hypercar, the Nevera, which it claims will accelerate from zero to 95kph in 1.85 seconds.

"Last year was full of challenges. Nevertheless, this group gave extraordinary results," said HR Owen, citing The National News on December 30.

Since 2016, the company has been wholly owned by the Berjaya Group, a Malaysian conglomerate led by English football club owner Cardiff City FC, Vincent Tan.

Kendari is said to have benefited from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the company was forced to reduce its staff during the year by 39 people to 409.

Automakers have struggled to keep up with demand during the pandemic and have generally been penalized for it. They have experienced a decline or loss of profit as large wage bills during closures and high raw material costs have eaten into their margins.

To note, dealers are able to take advantage of high demand. The luxury car market is no different, but it has wealthy buyers who don't want to join a long waiting list to buy the latest car.