Arrival of new Ghost saloon helps luxury firm boost global volumes by 49% year on year
Rolls-Royce sold the most cars in its 117-year history in 2021, boosting volumes 49% year on year and reporting record sales in most markets.
The luxury marque sold 5586 cars globally last year, 1836 more than in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic had a near-universal impact on car manufacturers, and 461 more than the previous record set in pre-pandemic 2019.
It is the highest volume recorded by the Goodwood firm since it was founded as Rolls-Royce Limited in 1906, which it attributes to "all-time record sales in most regions" and high demand for each of its five current models.
Rolls-Royce said the sales volumes achieved in 2021 make it the "undisputed leader in the plus-€250k (£209k) segment".
Precise figures for each car have not been released, but Rolls-Royce says growth "has been driven principally" by the Ghost saloon – its newest model – and bolstered by the launch of the more dynamically oriented Ghost Black Badge in October.
The firm also reports steady sales of the larger Phantom and its Cullinan SUV sibling, and has orders running "well into" the third quarter of 2022. Its Goodwood factory is running at maximum capacity, on a two-shift pattern, to fulfil these orders. Current lead times are put at around one year.
Data sourced by Autocar reveals that the Cullinan was the most popular model in the UK, with 128 units sold, while the firm sold 88 Ghosts, 41 Wraiths, 33 Dawns and 23 Phantoms in its home market, for a total of 313 sales.
Sales of pre-owned Rolls-Royce models under the Provenance banner also hit a high, while orders for bespoke commissions in the vein of the Phantom Oribe and Phantom Tempus "remain at record levels". Rolls-Royce revealed the outlandish, £20 million Boat Tail in 2021 as a statement of intent for its dedicated Coachbuild division, which is expected to produce a highly exclusive and totally bespoke new model every two years.
Also in 2021, Rolls-Royce gave the first details of its debut EV, the Spectre coupé, due towards the end of 2023. On-road development tests got under way recently, outing the overall final design of the all-electric coupé, and by the time of its reveal, the Spectre will have undergone more than 1.5 million miles of testing - the equivalent of 400 years of use, Rolls-Royce says.
CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös called the 2021 sales figures "hugely encouraging as we prepare for the historic launch of Spectre".
Rolls-Royce boss: "We will never be a volume-driven business"
Rolls-Royce boss Torsten Müller-Ötvös has vowed that the luxury marque will prioritise exclusivity over increasing volumes beyond the record figures achieved in 2021.
Outlining Rolls-Royce's bumper sales figures for 2021, which include volume rising by 49% and sales increasing in all key markets, Müller-Ötvos was quick to pour cold water on any suggestion that the British brand will seek to become more mainstream.
"Let me be absolutely clear: Rolls-Royce is not, never has been and never will be a volume-driven business," he said.
"We're no longer simply an automotive manufacturer: we have transited into becoming a true luxury house, focused on creating the very best and most precious luxury products in the world.
"At the very heart of this ethos lies the requirement for rarity. And take it from me: Rolls-Royce will remain rare and precious. Bespoke is Rolls-Royce, and the principal reason our customers come to us."
Rolls-Royce said its promising 2021 sales figures make it the "undisputed leader in the plus-€250k [£208k] segment" and pointed to the £20 million, three-off Boat Tail as a statement of its intent to offer customers even more exclusive and highly personalised cars.
However, Müller-Ötvös did suggest that he wouldn't turn down customers on the basis of maintaining this exclusivity. "Rest assured – I mean it and it comes from the heart – we're not volume-driven, but obviously if there is demand worldwide, I'm interested in filling demand," he told reporters.
"Waiting times are a good thing for luxury goods, and we have quite extensive waiting times for our products currently, but it's difficult to forecast how that luxury goods segment will look 10 years from now.
"So for that reason, I think growth is possible still, but you won't see us go into five-digit numbers."
Last year, in the best year for sales in its 117-year history, Rolls-Royce sold 5586 cars.
Müller-Ötvös also suggested that Rolls-Royce won't follow the trend set by mainstream manufacturers in increasing model prices as it transitions to an all-electric line-up.
Asked by Autocar if an increase in pricing to account for the necessary investment in electrification (which will begin in 2023 with the Spectre coupé) could alter sales volumes, he said: "We will price the Spectre according to its product substance – that's what we do – and obviously according to the brand it represents.
"We aren't driven by what kind of drivetrain we have in our cars when it comes to pricing. That's our conviction.
"So for that reason, there's always room to increase prices further, because we have a super-strong brand worldwide, and for that reason I'm not worried about it. But having said that, it's not an 'automatism' that we say new products are always driven by cost in their pricing. Pricing is market-related, it's client-related [and] it's brand-related."
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