LONDON: The annual influx of Gulf Arab visitors to London marks the start of “supercar season” — drawing the attention of both motor fans, and parking inspectors. Vehicles from the top marques — from Bugatti to Bentley — hit the streets of West London at the beginning of the summer season. Many have plates from Gulf countries, having been flown in especially by their wealthy owners.
Supercars spotted by Arab News on Monday included a Gulf-plated Mercedes G-Class SUV, worth over $115,000, near Harrods department store, and a Dubai-plated Bentley Bentayga, worth over $170,000. A Bugatti Veyron from Dubai, worth over $1.4 million, was parked outside The Dorchester, a super-luxury hotel popular with Gulf Arab visitors. But the pricy supercars also spell great riches for London’s parking inspectors.
In Westminster — the upmarket London district that is home to the Harrods and Harvey Nichols luxury department stores — traffic wardens were busy Monday slapping the standard £130 ($167) parking fine notices on cars in the area breaking strict parking rules. Not only were Gulf-registered cars drawing their attention but many British-plated supercars were also attracting fines, while turning the heads of snap-happy passersby.
Many fines attracted by foreign drivers go unpaid: According to Westminster City Council figures, cars from France attracted the most unpaid fines in 2013-14, totaling £532,000 overall; cars from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ranked sixth on the list, with a total of £57,000 in unpaid fines.
While this year’s “supercar season” has only just begun, it is expected to pick up considerably as summer rolls on. One London taxi driver parked near Harrods department store told Arab News it is early in the season, but he has noticed a general pick-up in Gulf-plated cars since the end of Ramadan.
A chauffeur standing by his Mercedes near The Berkeley hotel in Knightsbridge said he expects to see an increase in supercars in the area, but he thought the Gulf diplomatic spat with Doha may result in fewer Qatari-registered cars on the streets of London this summer.
But several Qatar-plated cars were seen parked outside The Dorchester Hotel in Mayfair, including a red Rolls Royce — worth at least $300,000 — and a purple Porsche 911 valued at over $100,000.
London ‘supercar season’ eases into gear as Arab visitors flock to UK capital
London ‘supercar season’ eases into gear as Arab visitors flock to UK capital
Price cuts drive sales of Saudi-owned electric car
- Lucid delivers more vehicles than expected as it prepares to launch luxury new Gravity SUV
RIYADH: The majority Saudi-owned electric car maker Lucid delivered more vehicles than expected in the past three months as price cuts helped boost demand.
The company delivered 2,394 cars from April to June 30, above analysts’ predictions of 1,940.
Lucid produced 3,838 vehicles in the first six months of 2024 and needs to make more than 5,162 cars by end of the year to meet its annual output forecast of 9,000. It made 8,428 cars in 2023.
“I think at this point everything is shaping for them to achieve that,” said Andres Sheppard, senior equity analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald. Lucid will produce and deliver more cars in the second half of the year because of the usual seasonal effects on the industry, he said.
Demand for electric vehicles has grown more slowly than expected pace in the past year, under pressure from high borrowing costs, economic uncertainties and consumer preference for hybrid alternatives.
Lucid and the market leader Tesla have responded by slashing prices and offering incentives such as cheaper financing options. Lucid, which is 60-per-cent owned by the Public Investment Fund, the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, cut the price of its flagship Air model by 10 percent in February.
Its new Gravity SUV model, a rival for Tesla's Model X, goes into production this year and will cost about $80,000.
