Image: Car News China

In 2011, China led the way for expensive, exclusive and luxurious cars, buying more Lamborghini’s and Rolls-Royces than anybody else in the world.

The avenues in China are increasingly lined with luxurious car dealerships – Lamborghini, Ferrari, Bugatti and Rolls-Royce. Perhaps indicative of China’s luxury market appeal, Rolls-Royce recently introduced a $1.6 million “Year of the Dragon” model, decked out with hand-embroidered versions of mythical animals on leather headrests.

Auto industry analyst and managing director of the Shanghai office of Synovate Motor Research, Klaus Paur, says, ‘People are more extroverted. They have no problem showing off their wealth.” And showing off your wealth in China can cost significantly more than showing it off in other countries since China maintains some of the highest taxes in the world on luxury goods, adding up to 60% to the cost.

Chinese luxury goods buyers are typically young adults and the country’s millionaires are generally about 15 younger than those in the West. And although China has a reputation for producing a large quantity of fake luxury goods, the percentage of consumers who are willing to buy fake jewelry had dropped from 31% in 2008 to 12%, according to a McKinsey poll released in March. Gucci sales in China in the first half of 2011 were up 39%, Bottega Veneta’s went up more than 80% and Prada plans to open 50 new shops over the next three years.

Source: Luxury Insider