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Rolls-Royce sets sales record in 2021, despite ongoing pandemic

LONDON — Luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce, a unit of Germany's BMW, said on Monday its sales soared 49% to a record high in 2021 despite the global coronavirus pandemic, as demand worldwide for luxury vehicles surged. In an online presentation, Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos said the carmaker sold 5,586 vehicles to customers in more than 50 countries, the largest number in its 117-year history despite all the volatility wrought by the pandemic. "In the luxury sector as a whole, the struggle was not so much focused on attempting to find customers, but rather producing enough product to satisfy huge customer demand," Muller-Otvos said. He said sales hit all-time records in most regions, including China and the Americas. Premium and luxury car sales have been growing more broadly in key global markets such as China and the United States as pandemic travel restrictions have left wealthy consumers with more disposable income. "Covid forced many people to ground, not to travel anymore and for that reason there is quite a lot of wealth accumulated and that is spent on luxury goods," Muller-Otvos told Reuters. "We profited from that development." He said the carmaker's British plant in Goodwood was running at close to maximum capacity and its order books were full well into the third quarter of 2022. "If you order a Rolls-Royce today, you will expect to take delivery of it about a year from now," he said. Luxury British carmaker Bentley, a unit of Volkswagen AG said last week that it had cruised to a record year in 2021 as global sales jumped 31% amid strong demand for high-end vehicles. Last week BMW said it had achieved record sales of over 2.2 million vehicles from its BMW brand in 2021, outstripping 2019 sales despite a global shortage of semiconductor chips. Muller-Otvos said that while the chip shortage was cause for concern, Rolls-Royce's parent BMW had "assured that we could take delivery of all the chips we need to build our cars, so we haven't seen any shortages." Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Rolls-Royce celebrates brand's 120th with Ghost Prism

The Ghost might be Rolls-Royce’s smaller, “entry-level” car, but those words donÂ’t mean much when referring to the storied British automaker. With an almost $350,000 starting price, the Ghost is nearly as exclusive as its larger counterparts, but the recently announced Prism model will be even harder to get. Rolls said it would produce just 120 units of the car to celebrate its 120th anniversary in 2024, though itÂ’s unclear how many are already sold. As these things typically go, high-value clients and famous people tend to get the first crack at exclusive models, as theyÂ’re meant to be rolling advertisements for the brand. Last year was the brandÂ’s best ever, as it moved more than 6,000 vehicles in 2023, with America and record growth in the Middle East leading the charge. The automakerÂ’s demo car came in Gunmetal gray, which it said took 16 hours of hand polishing and a ten-step process that involves four layers of paint application. A high-gloss black-gray color is applied to the grille and trunk lid, which involves polishing the paints to such a high-gloss finish that they appear metallic. The dark colors highlighted with bolder hues are meant to convey the appearance of a prism, hence the carÂ’s name. Buyers can choose between four accent colors: Forge Yellow, Mandarin, Phoenix Red, and Mandarin. The color is applied to the brake calipers, lower bumper inserts and coachline, which Rolls said is a styling element that ties together the “mechanical, aerodynamic, and sculptural elements of Ghost.” Inside, the car gets Rolls-RoyceÂ’s famous Starlight Headliner with 1,040 individual LED “stars” across the interior roof. While these exclusive features are selling points for the Ghose Prism, Rolls said buyers still get access to its entire catalog of colors, materials, and options. Most people extend the automakerÂ’s already extreme purchase prices by several thousand dollars, pushing the average purchase price far above what we see on paper. Related Video

Rolls-Royce Spectre revealed — its first-ever, 577-horsepower electric car

Next year, Rolls-Royce plans to deliver its first EV: Spectre. Teased more than a year ago, this new EV will be the first battery-powered model from Rolls-Royce (but not its last) as the company turns the page to what CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos called "the start of a bold new chapter" for the show-stopping British marque. While the Spectre is not yet ready for prime time, the new battery-powered coupe has reached the point where Rolls-Royce is comfortable sharing it with the world as its engineers work to hammer out the details.  Rolls-Royce Spectre EV View 34 Photos Its side profile may suggest that Spectre shares its underpinnings with the Wraith, but Rolls-Royce says that's not the case. Aerodynamic drag be damned, Rolls-Royce went out of its way to redesign the Spirit of Ecstasy so that it could remain a fixture of the company's design even in a world where even the smallest hint of turbulence can draw scrutiny. This is the first production implementation of the revised ornament. Under the skin lies an all-aluminum architecture engineered to reduce mass wherever possible. This (and its derivatives) will be the platform upon which Rolls-Royce's future EVs will ride; it's also shared with the company's latest round of petroleum-powered models. Rolls-Royce says it is also 30% stiffer than any previous model the company has sold, which is no mean feat considering the fact that its engineers incorporated the battery pack into the Spectre's structure.  Integrating powertrain into the chassis can be a nightmare for internal combustion models, but Rolls-Royce says it has paid big dividends with Spectre. Mass dampening is one of the most effective means of controlling vehicle NVH, and very few components offer the density of a battery pack. All 700 kilograms (~1,540 pounds) pull double duty as sound deadening in the Spectre. That brings its total curb weight to just under 6,650 pounds — approximately 1,300 pounds heavier than the Wraith.  Rolls-Royce says it'll have more than enough power to overcome that mass. While specifications of the battery pack and motors are not yet available, Rolls-Royce did confirm that it its targeting a power output of 577 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. It should hit 60 mph in just 4.4 seconds on the way to a top speed of 155. With its 23-inch wheels, it should offer approximately 260 miles of range on the EPA cycle.