Knechtel was appointed to the position on April 1, 2015 that oversees Ferrari operations in the Asia Pacific region covering North East Asia (Japan, South Korea), South East Asia (Asean countries) and Australasia (Australia and New Zealand).
From May 1, 2016, the hub has expanded to include the Middle East and India markets.
Here are some of Knechtel's talking points with Star CarSifu at the sidelines of the launch.
The 296 GTB
A lot of things are gradually progressing since I arrived seven years ago.
The new 296 GTB will continue the Malaysian buyers' fascination with the brand.
The interest in sports cars and Formula 1 have always been there in Malaysia and the 296 GTB is hitting where the traditional Ferrari is positioned.
It's a powerful compact hybrid sports car with rear mid-engine design.
This is a very interesting model because of the generational change in terms of technology.
I think it will be a successful car as it's focused on a fun-to-drive concept.
I have driven the car on the Fiorano track and was blown away by its ease to drive and performance.
The car is so light, so agile and it forgives all the mistakes that you can potentially make around a curve as a non-professional driver.
The 296 GTB with 830hp is so much fun to drive and has a massive 0-100kph acceleration in 2.9 seconds that Malaysian owners will appreciate.
We have feedback from journalists who went for the media test drive and they were totally over the moon.
We have even taken a few orders already from clients who had not seen the car.
Knechtel in the 296 GTB.
Assetto Fiorano
I am surprised that many have taken up Assetto Fiorano as it is not cheap.
However, it is the ultimate performance enhancer.
Since the 296 GTB is a true sports car which is good enough on track as a weekend hobby, the Assetto Fiorano will give you the edge.
The car loses 15kg of weight, gets a lot of carbon-fibre elements as well as other enhancements.
Many customers have taken the Assetto Fiorano package that was offered with other Ferrari models.
Electrification
There are many trends in the automotive industry and we cannot completely ignore them.
There are also regulations out there.
But then, we as Ferrari will not try to follow trends as much as possible as we want to go our own way.
So that's why we have chosen the hybrid path for the moment.
There are two new targets that Ferrari has announced.
We are going to have our first battery electric vehicle (BEV) in 2025.
The second target is that we want to be carbon neutral in 2030.
This is the framework we are working on, putting in our thoughts, ideas and strategies.
This will be further explained in three months from now when we will have a capital markets day in Italy where we will update our investors and shareholders on our next five years.
It will give more clarity but not everything will be disclosed.
296 GTB.
Ferrari's growth
Since I arrived in 2015, we have been making incremental growth every year.
Our sales this year should be double of that in 2015.
Although we always wanted to do more, we do not want to grow too crazily.
We always try to make our growth steady and remain as an exclusive brand to protect the value of our customers' cars as well as pre-owned units.
Branding is very important to Ferrari.
Exclusivity also results in helping our clients maintain the value of their cars over time.
Recently, the value of pre-owned Ferraris are getting better and sometimes even more than new models. (laughs)
Asia is important for Ferrari's growth.
Ferrari's growth in the Far East in general and Asean have been solid over the past year.
Southeast Asia, Australia, Japan and Korea have contributed a growth of 27% in 2021 from 2020.
Every single market in Asean has done very well.
Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand have done well. In Indonesia, we have changed a new partner and things are picking up.
Despite the US and Europe being our traditional markets, they are not growing as fast as Asia.
The biggest single market is still the US. And the second biggest market is Japan on par with Germany.
After two years of Covid-19 lockdown, we are restarting our racing activities in big markets and in Asean as well.
If our clients want to race or just to go on track for fun, the 296 GTB is the fantastic new model to do so in.
Pilota Ferrari Around the World event.
Pre-owned Ferrari business
The Ferrari pre-owned business in Malaysia is growing along with new car sales.
It is the direct effect of selling new cars.
Of course, there are also collectors who don't sell some of their cars.
Pre-owned Ferrari cars are a very
lucrative business and not like in previous years in Asia when nobody took care of it.
There is a strong demand for Ferrari cars everywhere and if there are no new cars, you have to look at pre-owned cars.
If there are not enough cars, their value will go up.
It's also not easy to find good pre-owned Ferraris as many customers are holding on to their cars.
Roma.
New Ferrari buyers
We expect some 50% of 296 GTB customers to be new to the Ferrari brand as the car comes with new technologies that are attractive to younger buyers who are interested in environmental-friendly technology.
Some 70% of the Ferrari Roma and 60% of Portofino M buyers are first time customers of Ferrari cars.
The Roma is focused on understated elegance for someone who wants to be more discreet.
It is also designed for more comfort and daily as well as long distance driving.
The Portofino M, meanwhile, is also doing well as its lifestyle concept has been very successful with first time buyers.
Although the sports models are better on the track, the Portofino M with over 600hp can still perform as what is expected of every Ferrari.
I enjoyed driving the Portofino M.
Portofino M.
Upcoming Ferrari sports utility vehicle
Right now, we are releasing some teaser photographs to confirm that the car is coming.
The car is being road tested in Italy and we are gauging the interest of some clients.
But you have to be patient for the announcement of technical details.
It will be an interesting product to be added to the Ferrari range.
It was highly anticipated when we first spoke about it in 2018.
I believe that the car will be a fantastic Ferrari and a great product.
It has to be a true Ferrari and has to be a performance car.
