Italy’s Azimut Benetti Group were named the world’s leading yacht manufacturer in the Global Order Book 2016 for the 16th year, beating the key industry players from Italy, Germany, Britain and America.

The Global Order Book, which ranks the top 20 manufacturers of mega yachts, is published annually by America's prestigious ShowBoats International magazine.

The order book, published last month, revealed that a record-breaking 2,580 metres vessels measuring over 24 m were built in the group's six production plants.

Aizmut Benetti said the results confirm the outstanding success of its models, “which meet the needs of boat owners around the world”. 

The group has recently even expanded into the field of giga yachts, with vessels measuring over 100 m now under construction at the Benetti shipyard in Livorno.

Such a long-standing success can only come from the meticulous and constant development and improvement of its products and their production process, something that Azimut Benetti President Paolo Vitelli has always set as an essential cornerstone for the group’s growth. 

First-rate projects, along with industrially and financially viable shipyards, are the key factors to achieving this result.

The snapshot taken by the Global Order Book is a tribute to Italian excellence, as it portrays Italy as the world's leading manufacturer of mega yachts. This is a positive sign for the company and for the Italian boating industry as a whole, the group added.

The Global Order Book is considered the most reliable point of reference for the boating industry. Every year, it provides an accurate performance report, publishing information on actual orders, for yachts measuring 80 feet upwards, confirmed by September 1 of the year in question.

Azimut Benetti is the world's largest builder of yachts and mega yachts. Operating in 68 countries with a network of 138 sales and service offices, the group includes the renowned Azimut Yachts and Benetti, each dedicated to a different market segment. The group also comprises Yachtique, the service division reserved exclusively for yacht owners, and Fraser Yachts, specialising in sales, brokerage and charter activities.

The Azimut Benetti Group, closed the year 2014-2015 with a production value of €650 million.