A construction site, a history
Solaris has been producing sailboats since 1974. The yard is located in Italy on the shores of the Adriatic Sea near Trieste, the cradle of maritime culture since ancient times. For 40 years now, the shipyard has been producing high-performance and elegant sailing yachts for cruising. This sailboat production was accompanied by 35 years of experience in the renovation of sailboats and yachts. The site has developed its expertise in cabinet making and is committed to a homogeneous and robust composite construction. Little by little, Solaris has specialized in top-of-the-range cruising yachts. Recently, the range of sailboats has been extended to "small sizes", in particular with the Solaris 44, which offers an alternative to an X-Yacht.
A recent presence on the French market.
In 2018, the range extends from 37 to 73 feet. The growing Trieste site produces 30 to 35 units per year. Soon a Solaris 80' will be launched and on this occasion the yard has invested in new buildings adapted to the construction of large yachts. The total surface area is now 26,000 m², including 6,000 m² under shelter. Solaris wants to optimize the tooling and manufacturing for all the yachts in the range with the aim of increasing production to 40 units per year.
France is a great market for Solaris
The first French exhibition in which Solaris participated was the Cannes Motor Show in 2010, but the first Solaris appeared on our coasts in early 2013. For 2018, sales break down as follows: 30% for Italy, 20% for the Germanic regions (Germany, Switzerland, Benelux) and 10 to 15% for France.
Thus, the French market has become in a few years an important source of export. To help this development, the yard has created a network of 4 agents spread over the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. However, on such units, the site maintains close contact with the future owners during the various construction phases.
A competitive high-end market
Solaris seems to be finding its place in the highly competitive landscape of medium-sized yachts and semi-custom units. The range ranges from top-of-the-range series boats for small sizes, to semi-custom yachts for larger ones. For medium-sized boats, according to the shipyard, Solaris operates in the same price ranges as X-Yachts and they are 15% more expensive than a Grand Soleil. For semi-custom units, a Solaris will be 15 to 20% more expensive than an equivalent yacht at CMB and 20% cheaper than a Swan.
