LaForza Automobiles, Inc. (Pink Sheets: LFZA) is an international company, with automobile design, manufacturing and customization facilities in Italy and the U.S. The Company designs, manufactures and markets worldwide luxury sports utility vehicles ("SUV") and personal security vehicles ("PSV"). The Company is focused on building upon its sales and marketing reputation and increasing LaForza's worldwide marketing presence. LaForza was originally incorporated as a Nevada corporation, in October 1996.
The Company maintains its offices and U.S. manufacturing facilities in southern California. The first LaForza production vehicles in the U.S. were sold from Italy to dealers and end-users beginning in January 1989. In 1996, LaForza acquired the rights to distribute the LaForza SUV in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. To date, approximately 5,000 units of LaForza vehicles have been sold worldwide.
The Company owns and operates the LaForza manufacturing plants and Design Studio. LaForza owns all inventory, prototypes, tooling, and Intellectual Property for the LaForza automobiles, providing the Company the ability to control the quality of the product and thus improve upon the brand name of the LaForza SUV vehicle.
Recent NEWS
May 29 Laforza Automobiles, Inc. Announces Participation in Concorso Italiano 2001 - Business Wire
May 8 Laforza Automobiles Announces Appointment of Roger Phillips as Consulting General Manager of Laforza International - Business Wire
The Company is now energetically marketing an armored version of the LaForza SUV for military, paramilitary, law enforcement and private use. This PSV is rated as a Level 4 Armored Vehicle, providing safety from small arms gunfire at close range. Over 1,000 units of this vehicle are in service in Europe. The suggested list price is $120,000, with gross margins in excess of 50%.
Additionally, LaForza has designed and developed prototype bodies for a new line of LaForza vehicles. The Company has incorporated the U.S. modifications and improvements that dramatically update the quality and design as well as the suspension. The new line of vehicles will be known as the LaForza Limited.
The LaForza SUV "…a new force with which to reckon" - Car and Driver
The LaForza automobile is a limited edition, rugged, versatile, luxury sports utility vehicle. The LaForza SUV has to date been imported into the U.S. as a complete interior and exterior body "shell." LaForza installs a new Ford V-8 engine and drive train, and upgrades the quality and performance of the vehicle, at its factory in California. Once final assembly is completed, the Company can, if required by the customer, add value by providing after-market customization. Altogether approximately 800 to 850 LaForza’s have been sold in the U.S. to date, the product has been featured in several prestigious trade and consumer magazines, including Car and Driver, Motor Trend, and AutoWeek.
May 8 Roger Phillips Appointed as Consulting General Manager of Laforza International - PR Newswire
Apr 25 Supply Relationship with Fiat's Iveco Italy Entered Into by Laforza Automobiles - Business Wire
Apr 25 Laforza Automobiles Enters Into Supply Relationship With Fiat's Iveco Italy - PR Newswire
Road and Track magazine offered the following on the LaForza SUV: "LaForza’s full leather interior features electrically adjustable bucket seats in front, a bench seat in the middle, and 40.5 cubic feet of cargo space in the rear. Power everything, air conditioning, a sunroof, a top-notch sound system, and any other imaginable opulence are standard, including lots of head and leg room. There are no mechanical or amenity options (none needed). The ride and handling are superb for a vehicle of this heft and size. LaForza has an impressively low center of gravity and very little body roll. This vehicle can handle all the bumps off road and on the highway. LaForza is impressively quiet and feels luxurious."
Over the past few years, the Company has produced and sold custom lots of vehicles; sales prices range from $30,000 to $48,000. Today, with the improvements in quality and increase in performance, the current model carries a suggested retail price of $59,500, with gross margins in excess of 50%.
The Market
The fastest growing segment of the automobile industry is the SUV market. More and more worldwide consumers have a preference for trucks and SUV’s. This has contributed to market share gains by the Big Three automakers (Chrysler, Ford, GM). In fact, U.S. automakers virtually created this market several years ago. This segment encompasses light trucks (i.e. sport/utility vehicles and minivans). It has outpaced traditional passenger vehicles, which should continue to decline as a percentage of total vehicle sales. The success of the light truck segment has spurred foreign manufacturers to develop similar vehicles to compete with U.S. manufacturers.
DISCLAIMER
Luxury SUV Market - The worldwide high end SUV market is currently dominated by the Toyota Land Cruiser, it’s more up-market and expensive sibling, the Lexus 470 and the Range Rover. While Mercedes and BMW have entered the market with 4X4 offerings, they are smaller vehicles that are more social statements than luxury 4X4 workhorses. Furthermore, LaForza's sales experience in the U.S. and the Middle East strongly suggests that the person who is attracted to a LaForza SUV already drives top end cars. Frankly the Ferrari, Bentley Maserati and Jaguar crowd wants to be seen in a 4X4 that is less of a production car. They want exclusivity and they are prepared to pay to have something that few others have. There is a segment of the market that wants to be looked at and the LaForza fits their needs. It is this market segment that LaForza is particularly interested in and therefore also needs to meet or exceed their expectation regarding what they expect of a luxury car. Firstly, the segment expects style and the Company's Italian designers know how to create that element in cars. Secondly, they expect real performance in terms of power, torque, braking and handling; the LaForza Classic provides that today and the new Limited Edition will build upon those characteristics. Finally, the interior must be leather, wood carbon-fiber and all electric. Again, while LaForza meets all of these objectives today its intention with the Limited Edition is to dramatically upgrade the interior to the level of luxury only seen in the top end of the top vehicles produced in the world to day.
LaForza is targeting the top end of the luxury SUV consumer. Retail purchase prices in this segment range from $45,000 to $65,000. The Toyota Land Cruiser and the Lexus 470 SUV are exceedingly popular but the dominant manufacturer is Land Rover with the Discovery and the Range Rover.
The market for an armored version of the SUV is also significant. In selective markets throughout the world, personal security has become vitally important. Currently, there is no manufacturer of branded luxury automobiles that produces an armored version that competes with LaForza.
Armor Protected PSV Market - LaForza management has identified a large and growing need for affordable armor protection for the Police Forces and private individuals around the world. Police and Paramilitary forces worldwide face a growing need for adequate levels of vehicle protection and private individuals in many countries feel more threatened by the violent nature of our present day societies. Virtually every armor protected vehicle starts life as a standard vehicle, which is disassembled, armor protected and then rebuilt. This process is very expensive and frequently results in a vehicle with lowered inadequate performance. Prices of $200,000 and more are the norm for this type of vehicle.
LaForza meanwhile has designed the armor protection into the vehicle and it is built from the floor up, as an armor protected version of the normal vehicle. Additionally, LaForza installs an upgraded engine, which results in performance that is equal, or better than, the standard vehicle. The advantages that ensue are significantly reduced construction costs and vehicles that, with the windows closed, are indistinguishable from the standard vehicle. With the window open the thickness of the bulletproof glass can be seen. The worldwide market for these vehicles is enormous and with LaForza's in-built manufacture design, exceptionally profitable.
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