Lamborghini has just launched its new three-floor Dubai retail outlet – the largest Raging Bull showroom in the world – and with the Italian carmaker’s chief executive Stefano Domenicali in town for the occasion, we asked him about its significance, the arrival next year of the keenly anticipated Urus SUV, the eye-wateringly fast new Huracán Performante and its plans for hybrid technology.
How significant is the opening of this new Dubai showroom on Sheikh Zayed Road, and what do you anticipate it will do for Lamborghini’s sales volume in the UAE?
Stefano Domenicali: This showroom is proof that Lamborghini is gearing up for a different future in terms of product range and visibility. This showroom is the best we can build and it’s now a reference for the brand. We believe we now have all the ingredients to continue the path of growth we have had for the past few years, particularly as next year we will be launching our new “Super SUV”, the Urus. This will be a crucial market for that vehicle, and this showroom will be the ideal platform to showcase it. The Middle East is a very important market for us.
What will be the core attributes of the Urus?
It will be an SUV in terms of shape, but it will have the great personality and design of our super sports cars, along with the same performance DNA and emotion. It will be a new type of Lamborghini for a new type of customer who can use it on a daily basis. So what we will eventually have in this showroom is the Urus alongside the Huracán and Aventador, and the customer can then decide which way they want to go. You can have fun on the track, you can have fun on the road, or you can have the Urus and take it to the dunes. That’s why we are particularly excited to soon have the Urus here – it’s the perfect car for this region.
What are the biggest challenges with the Urus?
The Urus will effectively double our volumes from 3,500 to 7,000 cars annually. There are two big challenges as far as the Urus is concerned. One is an internal one to ensure the people within our company understand the different philosophy behind this car. The second one is in relation to our dealers, who have to come to grips with selling a different product and have the right infrastructure to prepare and service these cars. These dealers also need to identify the right customers in what is now becoming a very crowded SUV market.
Will Urus buyers be non-traditional Lamborghini customers?
I would hope all our existing customers would also buy the SUV, so they don’t only have the super sports car. The Urus provides the bridge for them to drive their Lamborghini every day. We will also attract many new buyers to the brand, and we have to show them a world that is specific and unique.
Is the annual sales target you have set for Urus (3,500 units) constrained by production?
No. With our super sports cars we have said we don’t want to go above 3,500 cars per year – it’s a strategic number – but with the SUV, we have to make sure we can adapt in line with market demands, but not go over the peak, because that would be wrong. We have started out with a humble target, but if the market demands more cars, then we need to be ready.
Will the 4.0L twin-turbo V8 from the Urus eventually filter through to your other cars?
Our main priority is to preserve the V12 for as long as possible, because for that type of car it has attributes that are unique. We want to protect our niche. As for the V10, the future of that is under investigation, and we are also exploring the hybrid direction, but you have hit on the right point with what you have suggested.
The new Huracán Performante raised eyebrows with its record-breaking (for production cars) lap of 6 minutes 52 seconds at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Were you surprised by the controversy in its wake, with several sceptics doubting the credibility of the lap time?
Actually, this is the greatest compliment to us – it shows we have achieved something really incredible. It also shows that you don’t need only horsepower to post a good lap, as the Performante’s active aerodynamics were the real key to the lap. For people to doubt us is a little crazy, because how can they think for even a second that a company like Lamborghini would play games like this? In any case, we have shared very openly our telemetry and data.
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'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Rating: 3.5/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Brief scoreline:
Al Wahda 2
Al Menhali 27', Tagliabue 79'
Al Nassr 3
Hamdallah 41', Giuliano 45 1', 62'
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
