[Photo: Quite a few takers: Ital Auto expects to deliver the $798,000 front-engined California hardtop convertible in January.]

By Samuel Ee

FERRARI importer Ital Auto has collected more than 40 orders in over a month and expects to deliver its very first car, the California, in January.

Ital Auto was officially appointed the Singapore distributor for the prancing horse on Sept 26. Since then, the company has been accepting a steady stream of bookings for the new California hardtop convertible and the 458 Italia coupe.

"The first contract was written on Oct 1 for a California, and the order bank is split about 70:30 for the 458 and California respectively," said Nick Syn, Ital Auto's marketing manager.

While the California is listed at $798,000, there is still no confirmed price yet for the 458 Italia although indications are that it will cost around $1 million.

As all orders require a down payment, the latter has a booking fee of $100,000 - in line with the 10 per cent deposit for all Ferraris.

According to Ferrari, the front-engined California is designed for everyday driving. On the other hand, the Italian super sports car maker said that the 458 Italia mid-engined sports car will appeal to hardcore enthusiasts.

On the after-sales front, Ital Auto said that it has attended to and serviced nearly 50 cars to date.

"We're also proud to say that we've sorted out a number of cars with long-standing problems that weren't able to be fixed previously," said Mr Syn.

Ital Auto took over from long-time Ferrari importer Hong Seh Motors after an intense courtship of the prancing horse earlier this year involving about half a dozen suitors. Hong Seh had previously been associated with the scarlet cars here since 1982.

Ital Auto is a subsidiary of Komoco Motors, which distributes Harley Davidson, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Hyundai.

When news broke that it would be handling the Ferrari dealership, there had been rumblings in some quarters regarding the company's ability to service the supercars.

But Mr Syn said that Ital Auto is "scaling up the after-sales team as more and more owners seek us out".

"This is one area we're very keen to emphasise as we feel that this is one of the best ways to retain customers - to demonstrate that we're 110 per cent committed to giving their cars the best care and attention possible," he explained.

Overall, the Ital Auto team is also being "beefed up progressively". The latest addition is a "very experienced general manager from the UK, Andrew Howes".

"He's been working with Ferrari, as well as virtually all the high-end brands you can name, for nearly two decades so he's got a wealth of knowledge about this type of business," said Mr Syn, referring to Mr Howes.

Currently, the Ital Auto's Ferrari team formally consists of one sales manager, one marketing manager, one after-sales manager, one after-sales adviser and four service technicians.

Mr Syn added: "We've been pulling expertise from the rest of the Komoco Group as needed."

This article was first published in The Business Times.