Ferrari and other luxury marques are reshaping how they deliver cars to the Middle East as conflict and restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz disrupt normal shipping routes and dampen demand. Ferrari has begun flying specially ordered supercars to wealthy customers, pushing air freight costs to roughly four to five times the price of moving vehicles by sea. Buyers can request delivery in safer countries outside the region. Maserati has suspended most deliveries. Mansory has largely paused shipments and is evaluating requests on a case-by-case basis. Rolls-Royce is also adjusting; its chief executive said they are doing “everything possible” to facilitate deliveries for customers who are awaiting their cars, while declining to detail the methods being used, according to the Financial Times.
Ultra-high-end
The shift reflects immediate logistics pressure and the economics of the Middle East luxury market. The region concentrates demand for ultra-high-end, customized vehicles and remains a high-profit destination even though total sales volumes are smaller than in the US or China. Ferrari is seeking to sustain relationships with its wealthiest customers and will go to considerable lengths to deliver ordered cars, including highly personalized and extremely expensive models. Even before the latest conflict, some affluent buyers chose to pay for air transport to receive limited-edition custom vehicles faster. Mansory, which builds bespoke, high-value cars, is moving with heightened caution as it assesses whether and how each vehicle can reach its buyer.
Bentley, for which the Middle East is a key market, is maintaining factory output and using in-market inventory to fulfill orders rather than resorting to air freight. Customers who want a car now must select from stock models. The company acknowledges the conflict has already affected demand for its vehicles in the region.
The broader auto trade into and through the Middle East has been shaken by a Middle East crisis triggered by US and Israeli strikes on Iran. Disruption to global shipping routes and supply chains is dragging down used-car businesses in Japan and South Korea, according to The Straits Times. Shipments during what is typically the busiest stretch for used-car dealers—from March to September—have been halted or delayed. Many vehicles are stuck in storage and dealers are paying significant monthly fees for space they expected to turn over quickly. Some companies have had cargoes returned to Japan, extending selling cycles and adding costs for traders and end buyers who remain in limbo.
One company asked for a deposit of $5,000 (about $5,000) per car as risks and costs mounted. Some cars destined for Middle Eastern buyers have been shipped back to Japan, leaving customers waiting.
Bottlenecks
The realignment of maritime traffic has created bottlenecks well beyond the Gulf. Diversions from Dubai left a Sri Lankan port so congested that one shipment of more than 500 cars from Kobe Motor, a Japanese exporter that ships around 18,000 cars a year, was stuck at sea for over 10 days because vessels could not enter. That delay coincided with growing unease among some Japanese shipping firms, prompting cancellations amid uncertain port access and rising backlogs. Kobe Motor’s founder, Hyder Ali, who has lived in Japan for two decades and ships used cars to South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, said the congestion and knock-on effects have distorted normal schedules and payment terms across the trade. The United Arab Emirates, the largest single destination for Japanese used cars last year, received 224,000 units—about 15% of total export volumes—and the contraction of that market has rippled across auctions, yards, and transporters. Japan and South Korea together exported $19 billion (about $19 billion) of used cars last year, with Japan accounting for slightly more than half, and more than a third of the 883,000 used cars South Korea exported in 2025 were destined for the Middle East.
This article was produced with the assistance of a news exploration technology.