Romanian-based Forza Rossa, the sole importer of Ferrari sports cars in the country, expects a 30 per cent rise in sales to 6.5 million euro ($8.0 million) this year, helped by the success of the Italian automaker’s latest models 458 Italia and California, a company official said.

"We expect to sell 25 cars in Romania this year, compared to 20 units sold in 2009," Forza Rossa network sales manager Octavian Ursu told SeeNews on the sidelines of Top Gear Auto Show 2010 held in Sofia, Bulgaria earlier in June 2010.

The company has already sold 18 of the 458 Italia and California models this year, and most of them have already been delivered.

The company’s turnover rose to five million euro last year from 4.5 million in 2008, when it sold 18 cars.

"We have already delivered 14 cars so far this year," Ursu said, adding the average price of a Ferrari is somewhere in the region of 180 000 euro in Romania, 19 per cent Value Added Tax excluded.

This year’s rise in Romanian sales will also be helped by the 599 GTO model, which carries a price tag of about 300 000 euro. Forza Rossa ('Red Force' in English) has sold three cars of the new model in Romania so far this year, Ursu said, adding that no more  599 GTOs will be offered in Romania.

The Ferrari 599 GTO was launched at the Beijing Auto Motor Show in April and the Italian producer announced it would release only 599 units of this model.

Ursu said the global economic and financial crisis has not affected the company’s operations in Romania.  

"Just that more payments are made via financing options rather than in cash," he said.

In December, Forza Rossa opened in Bucharest the largest Ferrari store in Europe, following an investment of about 4.5 million euro, Ursu said. The store, which offers Ferrari-branded clothes, accessories, watches and sports items, covers about 500 sq m.

Ursu said Forza Rossa plans to invest a further five million euro in a similar store in Monte Carlo that will be opened in the autumn.

Romania, severely hit by the global crisis, signed a 20 billion euro bailout package with the International Monetary Fund and other international lenders last year, when its economy contracted by 7.1 per cent.

Under the funding deal, the Romanian government agreed to cut budget deficit to 6.8 per cent of the projected gross domestic product (GDP) this year from about 7.2 per cent in 2009. In order to meet the target the government decided to cut public sector wages by a quarter and slash pensions and unemployment benefits by 15 per cent as of this month.

Forza Rossa (www.forzarossa.ro) has a Ferrari showroom and a service centre in Bucharest. It can also sell cars under the Italian brand to countries that have no official Ferrari importer like Bulgaria, Ukraine and Serbia.

"We have sold three cars in Bulgaria so far this year," Ursu said.

Bulgaria has also taken the blow from the crisis as its economy contracted by five per cent last year. The country turned to budget deficit equivalent to 3.7 per cent of GDP in 2009 and targets a 4.8 per cent fiscal gap this year.

Ferrari's main competitors on the Romanian sports car market are Germany's Porsche, UK's Aston Martin and Italy's Lamborghini, Ursu said.

Source: SeeNews.com