In the world of Maritimo, it seems that big boats are all the go with 2016 seeing a significant lift in the number of sales of the company’s largest models.

The flagship M70 cruising motor yacht, which was launched in December 2014, has remained a stand out model for Maritimo and there have now been twelve sold to owners from the USA, Fiji, France and Singapore. The base price for the M70 is $3,037 million.

The first S70 sedan motor yacht was developed specifically for a New Zealand based owner who undertook worldwide research before settling on the bespoke Maritimo S70. The S70 will be released in May next year with a base price of around $2,965 million.

Image: The S70 cruising motor yacht currently in build at Maritimo and due for its international launch at the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show in 2017.

Maritimo’s International Sales and Marketing Manager, Greg Haines, said the number of large motor yachts the company had sold in 2016 has increased on the previous year.

“The M70 cruising motor yacht has been one of our best models, but the new M64 , released just before Sanctuary Cove this year, has also attracted a lot of interest and eight  M64’s  have now been sold,” he said. “The base price for the M64 is $2,592 million,” he said. “Overall Maritimo has had a very strong year and sales are up. Staff numbers have also risen considerably in the past year in line with increased demand for our product and there is a continual focus to train and develop our people to continue the high standard of workmanship.”

“The larger boats in our model range are gaining a worldwide reputation for their overall volume, the luxuriousness of the finishes, their sea worthiness and their fuel efficiency. We recently had an M64 travel from the Gold Coast to New Zealand under its own steam, on a journey involving 138 hours at sea and the boat never missed a beat. It is this sort of performance that is seeing the brand shine internationally.”

He said Maritimo’s expanding international dealer partner network continues to grow and this was underpinning the overall success being enjoyed by the company.

“Our European dealer partner, Spencer Ship Monaco, has grown considerably  with multiple sales to date. We have also just appointed a new dealer partner in Sri Lanka and our existing dealer partners in the USA, Singapore, Canada and  South America are all performing well,” said Haines.

Maritimo’s Australasian Sales Manager, Ormonde Britton, said  Australian sales are continuing to increase and product demand for the M & S series is continuing to expand. He said that the Australian market still represented more than 50 percent of the company’s overall business and Maritimo was proud of the fact  that many of its Australian and New Zealand customers were multiple boat owners, sometimes on their third or fourth Maritimo.

“Our Australian owners are very loyal to the brand and our research shows that they love their Maritimo’s and the lifestyle that ownership provides,” he said.

Maritimo said some of the highlights of the past year starting in January were:

–   A very successful Miami International Boat Show with four vessels displayed and multiple sales.

–   The launch of the new M64 cruising motor yacht on the Gold Coast in May with five sold even before its worldwide release.

–   The Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show in May, which was a ‘mini United Nations’ for Maritimo with dealers from around the world in attendance and the worldwide release of the M64 attracting big interest. Eight boats were displayed.

–   A large Maritimo Muster held at Roche Harbor in the Pacific North West which involved approximately eighteen Martimo’s and more than fifty owners, their families and friends.

–   A strong Sydney International Boat Show with Maritimo’s largest on-water display ever and the takeover of the Elandra sports cruiser brand finalised.

–   European dealer partner Spencer Ship enjoying strong interest at the Cannes International Boat Show and laying the foundations for a significant number of sales that have since been finalised.

–   Four vessels displayed at the Auckland On Water Boat Show resulted in strong interest and future sales assured. The biggest attraction was the M64 which travelled from the Gold Coast to Auckland under it own power specifically for the event.

–   The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show with five boats on display and all the major USA and Canadian dealer partners in attendance. A contingent of Maritimo owners and brand associates gathered at the Fort Lauderdale show before travelling on to Key West for a Maritimo Muster and also to support Maritimo’s race team competing  in the World Offshore Powerboat Championships. Multiple sales resulted from the show and the race team’s courageous showing in the world championship competition, despite several mechanical issues, saw the Aussie brand applauded.

–   Maritimo also won the Australian Supercat Extreme category in the Offshore Superboat Championships with Ross Willaton and Travis Thompson taking out eight of the 10 races and ultimately being handed the Mark Lee Trophy

Maritimo CEO Garth Corbitt said the next 12 months would build on the foundations of what the company has set down in recent years.

“Several years ago we totally revised and refined  our corporate strategy and created a blueprint or roadmap for where we wanted to take the business and I am pleased to say that plan has proven extremely successful,” he said. “As part of that, we put the focus squarely  on quality, innovation, design and improving our product while at the same time growing the brand nationally and internationally through the network of world-class people who are now our ambassadors at the coal face. Our product, our people and our commitment to our customers has never been more finely honed and we are seeing the results.”

Corbitt said as part of the company’s strategic direction there is a drive for global growth in our sales distribution network and dealer partners are currently being negotiated for the East Coast of Canada, The Great Lakes region and other parts of South America, India and the UAE and global growth in our sales network.

Maritimo’s General Manager – Operations, Phil Candler said:  “Our factory is increasing production to meet the market demand and we currently have forward orders across the entire range. The S70 will be released at the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show and the new S59 will be released at the Sydney International Boat Show in August. ”

Maritimo also increased its focus group research initiatives to get ‘coal face’ comments and feedback on all aspects of the model range with a view to constantly improving and upgrading the vessels on offer.

“Our factory is in full production and as an example, we have three M59’s that have to be delivered before Christmas and the S70 has to be ready for Sanctuary Cove in May”.

“We have continued our prestigious brand partnerships with Maserati and Bang & Olufsen and we are continuing to restructure and refine the Elandra range which will see a rebranding announced next year and models including 44, 58 and 70 sedans being released.”

Haines said Maritimo was grateful during the year to the many owners who offered their new vessels up the company for use in boat show displays around the world. He said in a company first, Maritimo had factory craftsmen onboard all  models displayed at boat shows to answer questions from prospective buyers about construction and technical details.

“We have an exciting year coming up in 2017 with the Maritimo Racing team competing again in both in the Australian championships and the World Championships in Key West, the ongoing expansion of the international dealer partner network, reconfiguring the Elandra range and working on exciting new Maritimo models,” he said.