Luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce drives into a 60 per cent annual sales rise
LUXURY carmaker Rolls-Royce has reported a 60 per cent worldwide surge in sales for its first quarter, with more than treble the demand from China compared to this time last year.
Proving that the world’s wealthiest are already shrugging off the recession, sales in the Asia-Pacific region doubled, and there was substantial growth in the United States, Europe and the Middle East. The figures are a welcome boost after sales plummeted last year.
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, speaking in his new role as Chief Executive Officer for Rolls-Royce, said, “This is an excellent first quarter result and demonstrates the confidence that our customers have in our company and our products. The interest in our new model, Ghost, is growing and is bringing a significant number of new customers to the Rolls-Royce brand. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars continues to operate as the world’s foremost ultra luxury car manufacturer.”
Rolls-Royce said it was notable that, while it has introduced the new Ghost model into many markets, the first deliveries of the car are not due to arrive in China until this month. The sales boost there was from sales of the Phantom models alone.
The iconic carmaker, based at Goodwood near Chichester, said all models are currently sold out until mid-year.
Meanwhile, the firm says expressions of interest are up and, after record production levels in the last quarter, it has ramped up manufacturing at its plant to meet growing global demand.