Slump Reaches New Rich

The new millionaires of Asia and the Middle East have curbed spending, executives from companies including Rolls and Ferrari said in interviews at the Geneva Motor Show this week, torpedoing a market they’d counted on to spur growth after the banking crisis eroded orders in Europe and the U.S.

Rolls-Royce, the U.K.-based top-end brand of Germany’s BMW, says demand is falling fastest in the once high-growth locations of China and Dubai. Volkswagen AG’s Italian Lamborghini division said yesterday that China has turned into a tough market after previously supporting sales.

Lamborghini’s worldwide deliveries rose 1 percent in 2008 to a record 2,430 vehicles, supported by sales in China and other emerging markets. That won’t be the case this year, Stephan Winkelmann, the division’s chief executive officer, said yesterday in an interview at the Geneva show.

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