Elandra Yachts head to USA

Elandra Yachts has its sights set on the American market, with the first Elandra 53 luxury motoryacht due for delivery to the USA in late 2016.

Co-founder and director Luke Durman said the strength of the US dollar against the Aussie dollar placed Elandra Yachts’ premium offering as excellent value for money.

“The Elandra product will be very competitively priced against its competitors in the US market,” he said. “As for dealers, we will look to have factory direct representation. That may involve working with a few select US dealers.”

The US has a proven appetite for Australian-built, long-range cruising motoryachts, said Durman.

“Americans engage in similar cruising on the east coast and up north. They’re after long-range fuel efficient, seaworthy, soft riding boats.

“Now, with the softer Aussie dollar, Elandra offers an extremely attractive value package.”

The US market is crucial to expansion plans for the Gold Coast brand.

“In time we expect 65-70 percent of our turnover to be in the US, so it’s a very important step for us,” Durman said.

“The planning and discussions are well advanced to have representation in the USA for the East Coast show circuit in 2016.”

At the recent Sydney International Boat Show, Elandra revealed it has committed $3.5 million to R&D over the next two-and-a-half years, along with an extra 1000m2 of floor space at its Gold Coast base.

Currently in development are the Elandra 49 (extended from the initial 47 proposal) and a 60ft-plus model, with production expected to reach around six or seven boats per year by 2017.

The Elandra 49 is planned for release at the 2016 Sydney International Boat Show, the first pre-production boat having been sold already.