Maserati banking on strong NZ sales

Neville Crichton at Maserati Auckland, which opened in October last year, sells Maserati and Lotus vehicles.

Multimillionaire car business chief Neville Crichton is expecting strong New Zealand and Australian sales of luxury car brand Maserati which this year celebrates its centenary.

Crichton, whose European Automotive Imports is the New Zealand and Australian importer of Maserati, said the opening of a new dedicated dealership at 425 Broadway in Newmarket coincided with the luxury car brand's celebrating 100 years in business.

Maserati Auckland opened its doors in October last year and sells Maserati and Lotus vehicles.

Maseratis start from $129,000.

"Maserati's 100th year will see the arrival in New Zealand of the new Quattroporte and Ghibli which have already seen an unprecedented demand around the world," Crichton said.

The new dealership was already operating and was the first dedicated facility for the brand, Crichton said. The Newmarket premises were larger than the previous Auckland dealership for Maserati, he said, predicting big demand for the luxury brand.

"Maserati has an order book for the new cars that is four times that of the company's entire sales in 2012 and we expect this increase in sales to be matched in New Zealand," he said in a statement issued by Glen Sealey, Maserati Australia and New Zealand's general manager.

The statement then went on to outline the extent of Crichton's business interests.

"Neville Crichton, with his companies European Automotive Imports and the Ateco Group, is the largest independent car distributor in Australasia and he also runs the Sydney retail business for Maserati. His contribution to both the car and boat industry as well as sport in New Zealand was recently recognised by the Queen. This combination of expertise and support from his companies provides the ideal springboard from which to launch Maserati Auckland and for it to meet the challenges of the coming expansion in New Zealand by Maserati," the statement said.

Crichton appeared on last year's RichList with an estimated fortune of $175 million.