Luxury Car Retailing & Trends
Executive Summary

A luxury car is indeed a status symbol that is a reflection of one’s personality and power in society. There is a steady increase in luxury car customers globally as there is a rise in income, wealth and urbanization. It is more of a dream come true of the rising middle class to purchase and own a luxury car. After the global financial crisis (Reyneke et al., 2012) hit the luxury auto market, it was interesting to find that the younger generation maintained their spending habits and joined the baby boomers who were already major consumers of luxury cars.

However, the concept of cars being a boy toy has certainly evolved with the emergence of female consumers . These women are driven by their need to showcase their power and independence. The finest example are the Chinese and Middle Eastern women who have come out of their cocoons and protested against a male dominated culture and purchasing luxury cars were a part of that change. As the younger generation have become more environmentally conscious, luxury car retailers have adopted the ‘go green’ concept by bringing out diesel run and electric cars. Another trend that is picking up is the customization of cars.

Luxury car retailers have chosen to customize their car for their customers providing them exclusivity and satisfaction as the customers get what they exactly want. The sales for luxury cars from 2012 to 2014 have been forecasted to increase steadily but there are a few challenges that these retailers are faced with. The booming of luxury car rentals makes luxury accessible to all but hampers the exclusivity and uniqueness that luxury cars provide to their loyal customers. Furthermore, the tax policies placed on luxury cars pose as a challenge especially in Australia where there are taxes in place for the car and also import taxes.

Despite these