Rupert WatkinsRecord for Rolls Royce
The British car giant smash their sales 5 years running
Article by Rupert Watkins
Even Merlin, inspiration behind the firm’s legendary Spitfire engine would have been impressed to cast such a spell. Rolls Royce recently announced a fifth consecutive record sales year. 4,063 cars were delivered in 2014, a 12 per cent rise meaning the elite marque has more than quadrupled its sales since 2009.
Europe lead the way with a 40 per cent rise in sales with Germany alone up by almost a third on 2013. The US grew by 30 per cent with the Middle East delivering 20 per cent growth on the previous year. Australia reported a 75 per cent rise with Japan 60 per cent. Emerging markets such as Vietnam and Kazakhstan also saw encouraging growth. The marque now has 127 dealerships in operation and more are in the pipeline for this year.
The company broke the 4,000 vehicle sales level for the first time in its illustrious 111 year history. Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO of Roll Royce Motor Cars said, “ the result confirms that our strategy of balanced, sustainable and profitable growth is delivering and that Rolls-Royce remains the world’s leading luxury goods brand..”
The year was driven by strong sales for the Wraith, which had its first full sales year, and the Ghost Series 2, which launched in November.
Specialised collections including Waterspeed, Pinnacle Travel and Metropolitan, and unique creations such as the Maharaja Phantom Drophead Coupé contributed to RollsRoyce sustaining its industry leadership in bespoke customisation.
Once again, RollsRoyce sold more cars in the E200,000+ net segment than any other manufacturer. A record number of clients spent time with the firm’s bespoke design consultants. The result of this strong demand – especially for customized fittings - is that Rolls Royce has created over 200 more permanent jobs in the last eighteen months taking the total workforce to over 1,500 at its main factory at Goodwood in West Sussex.
Further good news came with the firm’s plans to create a new Technology and Logistics centre at Bognor Regis near Goodwood. The 30,000m2 facility is under construction and will employ 200 new and current specialist staff. 