Luxury Carmakers Woo Women

Sophia Wong embodies the kind of wealthy female executive persona that luxury and exotic carmakers are increasingly targeting. Her multicarat diamond engagement ring glints in the sunshine against a comfortable jogging suit as she pulls a suitcase that holds two tiny dogs nuzzling against its protective mesh.

Wong, her mother and the dogs have just emerged from an opal-colored Bentley Arnage. She was hand picked by her dealer, Rusnak Bentley of Pasadena Calif., to attend a weekend getaway at the picturesque Ojai Valley Inn resort and spa, an hour’s drive from Los Angeles, but a world away from the hectic schedule Wong manages as head of operations at a computer company in Orange County. The women’s weekend retreat at Ojai is Bentley’s play to solidify relationships with current owners like Wong. About a dozen other invitees show up, most of whom bring their mothers as accompanying guests.

The package includes posh beauty treatments, but Wong is more interested in getting a glimpse of the 2007 Bentley Continental GTC she has on order for delivery this month. Besides the spa treatments, attendees take test-drives of the Bentley Arnage, Flying Spur, Continental GT and the new Continental GTC. A rare Azure was on site for chauffeured rides.

The Continental GTC won’t be Wong’s first ultra-luxury car — she has owned dozens and has a Ferrari F430 coupe and Spyder on order — but the 42-year-old businesswoman is excited about the purchase and rattles off details about the car’s features, as well what it means to her to get one of the first convertible Continental GTCs in production. “Why do you want to carry a nice purse? Why do you want to buy nice clothes? Why do you want to live in a nice house? It makes you feel good to have something nice,” Wong says. “I want to be the first to have a lot of it, if possible — like the convertible Bentley.”

Wong is a prime example of an emerging customer in the slim ultra-luxury segment. As increasing numbers of women climb the corporate ladder and their buying power increases, more of their money is seeping into the traditionally male-dominated ultra-luxury car market, which can generally be divided into two niches: exotic sports cars (made by Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, among others) and plush, elegant cruisers (made by Bentley, Maybach and Rolls-Royce).

Bentley executives say the company has a dominant share of the ultra-luxury car market. “Among the so-called exotic cars, we are No. 1 — 38 percent of our owners are female,” says Bentley North America CEO Andrew Stuart. “Maserati is next closest, with 23 percent. It has to do with how accessible our cars are. The average person jumps in and can feel comfortable. You don’t have to be a race-car driver to enjoy driving a GTC.”

Data from R.L. Polk and Company, a Southfield, Mich.-based independent research firm, is more optimistic: 43 percent of U.S. motorists registering a Bentley in 2005 were women, according to R.L. Polk data, followed by Maserati with 29 percent and Aston Martin with 13 percent. Only 6 percent of Ferrari registrants in 2005 were women. “There has always been a core of very passionate female Ferrari buyers, extending back to famous movie stars in the '50s,” says Ferrari spokesman Toscan Bennett. “However, our owner demographics continue to be dominated by males.” Aston Martin and Maybach have not tracked significant increases among women buyers.

Low production volumes make purchasing trends hard to quantify in the ultra-luxury category. Total ultra-luxury sales account for 6,173 vehicle registrations in 2005, according to R.L. Polk, which measures U.S. sales for car manufacturers, including Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Maybach and Rolls-Royce.

Lonnie Miller, R.L. Polk’s director of industry analysis, says that more women are listed as ultra-luxury owners than in years past. Female registrants in the ultra-luxury category rose from 9.6 percent to 11.7 percent in 2005. “If you look at the overall segment, the female pie slice has been getting bigger. Collectively, when you look at total units, we saw a 93 percent increase with regard to women’s ultra-luxury car registrations. Their male counterparts move to a 64 percent increase,” Miller says.

Porsche is not included in the study but has seen a similar spike in sales to women owners. “The percentage of women who own Porsches has essentially doubled from 10 percent to just over 21 percent,” says Porsche spokesman Tony Fouladpour. “Part of this growing appeal is due to the Cayenne, which has, as planned, helped expand the brand's appeal and made a larger audience aware of Porsche and all of its cars. Interestingly, all models have shown growth in ownership by women, including the 911 model series.”

Next: A Matter of Taste