By Derryn Wong

WHEN FERRARI IS involved, you know the news is always going to be big.

Komoco Motors, currently the dealer for Hyundai, Chrysler (Dodge and Jeep along with it) and Harley-Davidson Motorcycles, has been confirmed as the new Singaporean dealers for Ferrari S.p.A.

When it was made known earlier this month that ex-local Ferrari dealer Hong Seh Motors would no longer be handling the storied Italian marque, the reaction was mostly surprise – it was after all, the end of a 26-year old business relationship and Ferrari hasn’t exactly been doing badly with 45 units sold here last year.

Closest luxury sports car competitor Lamborghini sold 49 cars over the same period.

In the first quarter of this year, Ferrari outsold Lamborghini with 13 units to 10, although this doesn’t include newest Lamborghini LP 560-4 Spyder which sold eight units at time of launch last month.

But the status of the brand is such that it can literally, pick and choose who it wants to work with, and it’s not too far-fetched to say it likes to keep dealers on their toes.

In Europe last year, as part of a restructuring process, Ferrari canceled its contracts with every single one of its dealers on the Continent, which will come into effect in 2010. Most dealers expect renewed contracts by then, but that is no open-and-shut case.

Singapore’s case though, doesn’t seem to be a case of Italian passion run amok, as Hong Seh (and other car distributors) were invited to bid again for the contract.

In any case the Hong Seh, while having arguably lost its main brand, still has a healthy stable with the luxury/sports car brands Maserati (which like Ferrari, also owned by Fiat), Spyker and Artega, luxury yachts like Riva and MV Agusta/Cagiva motorcycles under its wing. It also celebrated its 40th anniversary last year.

While Komoco, whose main brand is Korean brand Hyundai, might seem like a strange partner to sell immensely expensive Italian exotics, there’s a few reasons why it does make sense.

It has been selling Harley-Davidsons here since 1994: products with a very strong brand image, are relatively expensive and cater to a distinctly upper-crust clientele. Sound familiar?

Perhaps even more convincing is the fact that Komoco Motors is owned by none other than hotel/property tycoon Ong Beng Seng who’s the man responsible for bringing Formula One to Singapore, and a good friend of Bernie Ecclestone.

In any case it’ll be exciting to see what Komoco and Ferrari’s collaboration brings to Singapore in future. The first model to be launched by the new dealer will be Ferrari’s globally-successful drop-top, the California.