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PI ferraris anyone? (still from Hong Seh) extracted from Asiaone.com S'pore company loses 25-year-old Ferrari dealership By Christopher Tan HONG Seh Motors is slated to relinquish its Ferrari franchise by the middle of this month, and will have to refund deposits it has collected for a new model. The privately-owned company, run by businessman Alfred Tan and his son Edward, has represented the marque for 25 years. It has reportedly taken more than 120 bookings for Ferrari's California convertible. Although prices have not been confirmed - as the California has not been officially launched here - Hong Seh is expected to return the $50,000 it collected as deposit for each car. "We have refunded those who asked for a refund," Mr Edward Tan said. Ferrari Asia-Pacific spokesman Matteo Bonciani has disclosed that Hong Seh's replacement - to be revealed next week - will launch the California. Mr Bonciani said customers can also look forward to the new F430, which will be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Mr Bonciani said the race to represent Ferrari is now between Komoco and Premium Automobiles. Komoco is owned by hotelier Ong Beng Seng, who also holds the Singapore F1 franchise; Premium Automobiles is owned by Indonesian entrepreneur Hadi Tanaga, who also has the Audi dealership for Singapore. They were among eight parties pitching for Ferrari's franchise. These included Mr Andy Goh, brother of Lamborghini dealer Melvin Goh; Porsche dealer Karsono Kwee; and Mr Arthur Tay, who runs leisure group SUTL. On why Ferrari has not yet decided after months of deliberation, Mr Bonciani said: "We're taking a long time to consider every possible proposal carefully. "As you can imagine, Ferrari is very special. If you want to work with us, you have to be a solid partner." He revealed that Hong Seh had tried to hold on to the franchise and only fell out of the race "very recently". Hong Seh, which has since secured brands such as Spyker and Artega, did not want to talk about losing Ferrari. Industry observers said its relationship with the Maranello manufacturer had been strained in recent years, with Ferrari wanting its representatives to invest more in the brand. This has led some to give up the Prancing Horse. London-based Inchcape stopped representing Ferrari and sister brand Maserati in the UK in 2007. And over the past two years, Asia has seen a slew of agency changes. These include South Korea, Japan and Malaysia. Changes are in the pipeline in Thailand and the Philippines as well. Insiders claim this signals Ferrari's ambition to stay ahead in the sports car segment in the face of intensifying competition from the likes of Lamborghini and Porsche. Lamborghini outsold Ferrari in Singapore for the first time in 2006 and again last year. Ferrari, which once said it would not make more than 3,000 cars a year, ended last year with record sales of nearly 6,600 cars. Mr Bonciani said it will now turn out no more than 7,000 cars a year. News of the impending change of Ferrari franchisee in Singapore has prompted several customers to write to The Straits Times requesting updates. One, a prominent lawyer, quipped: "I am a Ferrari owner dying for change." Hong Seh, meanwhile, may still continue to source Ferraris for loyal customers by parallel-importing them.