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global customer network and ‘design to production’

January 2018

ARES DESIGN opens its doors to a new level of design, development, manufacture and sales of coach-built and unique cars from a brand-new facility in the heart of Italy and an expanding global network of studios.

ARES DESIGN opens its doors to a new level of design, development, manufacture and sales of coach-built and unique cars from a brand-new facility in the heart of Italy and an expanding global network of studios. The brand-new 18,000 m2 ARES Design Technical Centre (ADTC) in Modena, Italy, officially opened on January 30th 2018 and immediately set a new global standard for the design, development, production and handover of bespoke, personalised, unique and coach-built cars.

Founder and CEO Dany Bahar, his long-term Dubai-based business partner, Waleed Al Ghafari, senior management from the ADTC and representatives from ARES DESIGN’s global network – accompanied by ARES customers and friends, media and key production partners – were presented with the world’s first ‘concept-to-creation’ coach-building facility. For the first time, every aspect of turning automotive dreams into reality can take place under one roof in rapid time and to an extremely high level of quality.

The ARES DESIGN Technical Centre can produce up to 300 bespoke cars a year, taking personalisation into a new league in line with global demand for luxury and bespoke automobiles. This significant increase in volume potential for personalised cars results from bringing coach-building processes in-house and under one roof, from design to rapid prototyping to 3-D printing, paintshop and leather works. It is a unique combination of luxury car brand resources with artisan principles and skills.

In just three years of trading, ARES has seen demand move from the typical bespoke projects that supported the formation of the business, and could deliver between five and six cars per week, to a much higher-end sector with clients asking for genuine one-offs, and reacting positively to ARES DESIGN concepts of limited run “Re-imaginations” and “Bespoke Creations”.

Bahar expects the ultimate volume at the ADTC to peak at a lower, but more profitable table and desirable 200 cars per year with a mix of projects under the company’s ‘Cinque Pilastri’ (Five Pillars) concept, balancing limited run editions of Series cars, with genuine unique coach-built automobiles and a steady flow of bespoke interior, exterior and performance tuning work at client request: the business plan will move towards the more profitable, one-off cars that require greater attention and skill. The ADTC will eventually work at maximum capacity by around 2020 as more artisans and ultra-low volume suppliers move under its roofs, and aftersales and maintenance work increases. And the ADTC even has its own photographic studio, reflecting the ‘open door’ policy that ARES aims to achieve with all car enthusiasts.

It is a facility and business set for the future growth in coach-building demand and one that reflects the changing attitudes for automotive customers in the 21st Century: between 2010 and 2017 the number of billionaires doubled globally from 1,000 to 2,000, as luxury car sales also boomed, from 17,400 to 28,500*.

2018 is just the start as ARES has also confirmed further investment into additional facilities and machinery with negotiations underway for the lease of a neighbouring 10,000 m2 building that will house ARES’s prototyping department. Within the existing facility, ARES is installing three brand-new fully digitised milling machines that will improve the production process further for both quality and time. This will ensure the highest possible standard for coach-built and bespoke cars – modernising a century-old business – whilst supporting a growth strategy into “future automotive” with ARES moving into the electrification of vehicles for ARES’s own cars and as a specialist B2B supplier for niche manufacturers. 2018 will, therefore, be another significant year of investment and growth for ARES.

ARES DESIGN’S GLOBAL NETWORK FOR SALES AND CUSTOMER SERVICE

Given the traditional luxury automotive brand experience within ARES’s team, it was only natural for the business to site its customer facilities – the ARES Studios – in key sale territories. The ARES Studios mix the best of typical luxury car showrooms with the personalised ‘shopping’ environments ARES’s clients prefer: friendly, expert and welcoming. After working with ‘in-market’ partners for the early ARES years, who could help supply a location and an initial flow of personalisation car projects, ARES is now in its second phase of global network representation, setting up solely ARES-branded Studios.

The launch venues in Dubai, Beverly Hills and Munich have proven successful in the 18 months since opening, working hand-in-hand with clients through over 100 projects. With these facilities established, ARES is set to launch a second round of Studios and is currently assessing locations in the UK, France, China, Russia and Singapore as well as other potential openings in the established UAE, German and US regions.

By 2020, ARES hopes to have a network of around 10 Studios and, given the very tight network of global car enthusiasts and a growing list of high-end classic and performance car auto shows globally, it is felt that 10 Studios combined with the ADTC facility itself and ‘word-of-mouth’ amongst the coach-building cognoscenti will provide a lasting foundation for ARES DESIGN’S long-term business.

*source: JATO/Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2017/05/08/super-luxury-car-sales-are-booming-infographic/#1f4c2b1d14b7