Like many industries, the superyacht building industry reached its zenith just before the Global Financial Crisis hit in late 2008, with deliveries from the peak period stretching into 2009. 10 years on, the industry has mostly recovered from the hardship of the intervening years, although production in terms of numbers of yacht does not even come close to the record numbers seen around 2008.
We compared the period 2007-2009 with the period 2015-2017, the last three years of which we have complete records. What becomes evident immediately is that production in terms of numbers of yachts over 30 metres long is down by 37% from 713 yachts during 2007-2009 to 443 yachts during 2015-2017. The market has also consolidated with the top ten players’ share of total deliveries going up from 32% to 44%.
How has the top ten of superyacht builders been reshaped in the intervening years?
Top Ten superyacht builders, 2007-2009 versus 2015-2017, in numbers of 30m+ yachts delivered
We can see that that the league table has changed significantly, with Sanlorenzo increasing its production almost threefold, while Benetti and Sunseeker remained more or less stable in a smaller market. Meanwhile, Feadship and Custom Line posted increases of 20 to 30% in their production as well (although that is not the whole story with Feadship, as their production in terms of gross tons increased by over 50%!). Gulf Craft went up from 12 yachts during 2007-2009 to 18 yachts during 2015-2017, an increase of 50% putting the yard in fifth place. Taiwanese yard Ocean Alexander had delivered just one 30-metre plus yacht by 2009 but was up to 14 yachts during 2015-2017.
Which yards lost?
Overmarine, known for their Mangusta brand, and Leopard Yachts were hit particularly hard by the economic crisis, with no deliveries from Leopard Yachts recorded lately, while Overmarine only delivered eight yachts during 2015-2017. Overmarine, however, bounced back over the years and now has a much more diversified portfolio of composite, steel and aluminium motor yachts.
Production of yachts longer than 30 metres at Azimut dropped to only five yachts in 2015-2017. With the recent introduction of several new models around and over 30 metres, the company is becoming stronger again in the 30-metre plus market.
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