Around 4,000 top-of-the-range vehicles from the Volkswagen group, including 1,100 Porsches but also Lamborghinis, were on board the cargo ship Felicity Ace which has just run aground off the Azores. This shipwreck could cost between 140 and 300 million euros approximately.
The cargo ship Felicity Ace transporting vehicles on behalf of the Volkswagen group, on board which a fire had been raging since February 16, has just sunk about 46 km from the Exclusive Economic Zone of Portugal, more precisely in the south-west of Portugal. archipelago of the Azores. At this location, the Atlantic Ocean is approximately 3,000 meters deep.
4,000 vehicles including 1,100 Porsche by the bottom
Flying the Panamanian flag, the Felicity Ace was operated by the company Snowscape Car Carriers, itself controlled by the MOL Ship Management group based in Singapore. Left Germany on February 10, he was to join the United States. The fire, of still unknown origin, started when the ship was about 167 km from the Azores. The 22 crew members had been evacuated. This 1er March, the boat tipped over while being towed, resulting in its sinking. About 4,000 new vehicles, many of them top-of-the-range, were on board. There are Volkswagens and Audis but also some 1,100 Porsches as well as Bentleys and Lamborghinis.
Lamborghini Aventador production extended?
Among the vehicles transported by the Felicity Ace were a few Lamborghinis Aventadors, which their owners had been waiting for for sometimes a year. The supercar’s commercial cycle is coming to an end, the Ultimae limited series marks the end point of its career and the order book was closed in October 2021. But Lamborghini could extend the production of its V12 model in order to re-manufacture copies identical to those that sank to deliver to customers who had placed an order. However, this return to production would not be guaranteed and would depend on the capacities of the brand’s suppliers. The sinking of the Felicity Ace could cost between 140 and 300 million euros according to some analysts. The Volkswagen Group should be strong enough to recover, and most of its customers would just have to wait a little longer. For the ocean, on the other hand, the damage promises to be much more lasting.
Sources: MTI Network, Marinha Portuguesa, Automotive News, Bloomberg
