Why no dealer in Indianapolis?

I grew up in Indy and am back here again now after 20 years living in Chicago, and have wondered the same thing over the years.

My theory... I suspect that the Chicago dealers (and MAG in Columbus) have lobbied hard not to expand into Indy as it leaves the entire market for them to sell into (no geographic restrictions).

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if a future franchise is on Graham Rahal's master plan as part of his move into the high-end car market over the last few years and build out of his (huge) new facility that is under construction.

The growth in Indy is only accelerating so probably only a matter of time.

 

The metro Twin Cities population is around 3.7 million, which is said to be the 16th largest in the US. Ferrari just arrived about 18 months ago.
Indianapolis metro is 27th with 2,6 million. Population isn't everything, but....

 

Ferrari and Ferrari only make that decision, not investors, other nearby Ferrari dealers or interested parties. They typically have a number of qualified parties wanting a franchise than they have any intention of opening.

Size of metro area, numbers of high income earners and number of pro sports franchises are taken into consideration.

If all the production is presold with long waiting lists what is the motive to open new stores?

Every store gets a contracted minimum number of new cars annually and current annual commitments are just barely being met, where do the cars come from? Ferrari cannot just increase production because they want a few more cars. Its not GM we are talking about.

 

Keep in mind, Ferrari makes X amount of cars. Every time you add a new dealership anywhere in world, the existing dealers get less cars. Unless the Factory starts making more cars, the dealerships are screwed. This is one issue that lead to the demise of the independent Ferrari dealer. Almost all Ferrari dealerships today are owned by a multi-line company who have the financial strength to carry a halo brand like Ferrari.

 

Some are owned by mega-dealers, yes. However, it is my understanding that the biggest two players locally, the Chicago area dealers, are in fact independents. They would be Rick Mancuso in Lake Forest and Joel Weinberger in Hinsdale.

For Ferrari of Washington this thread explains their scene: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/fow-ownership-change.636296/

 

Both old established dealers not really effected by the by the current trends.....yet John Weinberger owned a number of dealers of various brands until John died 3 years ago and the family sold them off.

 

Good to know. Are they the last in the US?