[THE INVESTOR] Italian carmaker Ferrari plans to start its own second-hand car business in Korea -- the first by an international super car brand here.

According to industry sources on July 5, its Korean importer and distributor FMK Corp. recently set up a new business division and has started preparations for the business launch within the year.

With the robust growth of import car market in Korea, popular brands such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen have already jumped into the soaring second-hand car market. 
 

Industry watchers expect Ferrari’s entry into the market could affect sales of other super car brands with cheaper price tags and their pricing policy even for new cars. A Ferrari car is priced at about 400 million won (US$350,000) on average.

FMK, which was acquired by local chemicals giant Hyosung last year, plans to purchase all Ferrari cars put up for sale in the used car market and resell the cars at cheaper prices after a thorough inspection of some 190 categories.

Its service plan is also expected to include a guarantee program for 12 months. All the repair work will only use original parts. FMK will inspect the cars, including a car’s registration and ownership records and driving range.

FMK said it has started preparations to get the final approval from the carmaker’s Italian headquarters. The company also imports and distributes Maserati cars here.

“Our used-car service will enable us to offer Ferrari cars at more reasonable prices. It will be also be helpful in reducing the waiting time to receive a new vehicle that that takes almost one year,” said an FMK official.

Back in 2011, FMK tried to enter the second-hand car market with Ferrari but stopped the business the next year due to lukewarm market reaction. The company estimates about 200 Ferrari cars to be put up for sale annually.

By Jeong Tae-il and Lee Ji-yoon (killpass@heraldcorp.com) (jylee@heraldcorp.com)