A breath-taking performance outside the Doha Exhibition Centre as part of the Qatar Motor Show.
By Isabel Ovalle
DOHA: Sales of luxury cars have increased in Qatar and the region. High-range brands featured at the Qatar Motor Show these days have closed 2012 with a growth in revenue in comparison to the previous year and plan to open new showrooms in Doha to focus on local customers. This is the case of Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and McLaren, which will launch new state-of-the-art showrooms here for each brand in March. Shiela C Dalumpines, Marketing and Events Coordinator for Alwajba Motors, exclusive distributor of these brands in Qatar, said that there has been a raise in sales, especially Bentley. Thanks to the new showrooms, Alwajba Motors expects to go way beyond its target sales in 2013. In the new stores there will be a display of seven Bentleys, one Bugatti and three Lamborghini, plus a coffee shop revolving around the car concept.
“In the region every year we reach our target and go beyond, the Middle East market is very loyal to the brand and our customers are very stable,” she added. While other sectors were suffering the impact of recession in 2010 and 2011, for luxury cars sellers those were “really good years, affected only in some ways because a number of our customers live in Europe, so we had less visibility in the showrooms.”
The luxury car business is also aiming to improve the after sale service in Doha. This is the case of Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti, which will have renovated and bigger customer infrastructures this year. Other brands like Audi are also looking to enhance their showrooms in Doha. During the official press conference to launch a new model in Qatar, Benny Lim, General Manager of Q-Auto — the official Audi dealer for Qatar — said: “Our new Service Centre in the Industrial Area and new Audi Showroom on Salwa Road will open in the second half of this year and we have further plans to expand our infrastructure. It is imperative for us to exceed our customers’ expectations.”
Porsche also closed 2012 with a 95 percent increase in sales in comparison to 2011, selling over 1,000 vehicles in Doha’s dealership.
Visitors at the show said the exhibition “is excellent and much better than last year,” said M Ali from India. While for Kate, a UK national, the event is “definitively worth visiting and a great option to see the latest models and choose among more affordable cars.” However, for some by-passers, like Ghada, from Egypt, “it seems like this year the show is only for rich people.” The Peninsula
DOHA: Several Freestyle Motocross (FMX) champions will perform outside the Doha Exhibition Centre as part of the Qatar Motor Show. South African Nick de Wit and Swede Frederic Berggern will return again this year after their appearance at the 2012 edition. Red Bull’s Erick Ruiz Rodriguez, from Mexico, will also join the FMX trio.
Nick de Wit has been a member of the FMX4Ever team since 2004, one of the top-ranked FMX teams in the world gathering talent from Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Australia. Frederic Berggern, on the other hand, promises the public “a complete package loaded with thrills, excitement, and never-seen-before extravaganza” after participating in shows in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and in a previous stint in Doha. As for Erick Ruiz, who started his career at the age of 12, he’s well known for his various breath-taking jumps and his passion to sports.
Red Bull athlete and Middle East Rally champion Lebanese Abdo Feghali will also be there with thrill-loaded shows. Marco Giony, world-renowned Hollywood stunt driver, and a mainstay of GL Events’ shows worldwide, will also make an appearance.
Marco comes from a family with a deep-rooted circus tradition, and started his first shows at age 13, becoming one of the most important Italian stuntman ever known. Leading a group of 27 performers, he has been the director and stuntmen coordinator at Mirabilandia Thematic Park since 2000 and of the Parque Warner of Madrid since 2010. During his career he worked as stuntman in famous international movies including the James Bond thriller Quantum of Solace, the remake of The Italian Job and numerous Italian movies and TV series.
