A 49 percent increase in sales of super luxury cars from Goodwood in 2021 compared to 2020 is astonishing. Only in Switzerland does the brand paint a completely different picture. How can that be?
The launch of the Black Badge Ghost also contributed to the record sales of Rolls-Royce in 2021.
The British BMW subsidiary Rolls-Royce Motor Cars reports record results for 2021. There has never been an increase of 49 percent compared to the previous year in the 117-year history of the super luxury vehicles from Goodwood. The new record is particularly surprising at a time when the automotive markets are suffering from the pandemic and the global chip crisis and are making losses. But also the parent company BMW, competitor Bentley and the super sports car brand Lamborghini announce new sales records.
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, believes he knows the reasons: “During the pandemic, the economy developed differently than originally expected.” In fact, many experts assumed a year-long global recession when the pandemic set in. “If you look at the stock markets, exactly the opposite has happened,” explains the Rolls-Royce boss. “In the luxury goods industry, the lockdown meant that suddenly you had more money for the finer things in life,” explains the Munich resident. “In addition, many of our customers are very active in the stock market. 80 percent of our customers are entrepreneurs and know how to generate wealth .. »
Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
But Müller-Ötvös believes that he has found a psychological background to the recent Rolls-Royce successes: “Thanks to Corona, people have realized that you can die faster than originally thought.” This has led to a rethink: you live more in the present than in the future. “Customers no longer want to wait three or four years to buy a Rolls-Royce, they want it now.” Other luxury industries such as the watch industry and private aviation recorded a similar effect.
Switzerland as a counterexample
In fact, there were new sales records for Rolls-Royce in the sales regions of China, America and Asia / Pacific. In Switzerland, however, only 30 vehicles of the super luxury brand were newly registered in 2021, the weakest value in the past ten years. In the record year 2019, sales in this country were 61 vehicles.
Müller-Ötvös cannot find an explanation for this situation, but emphasizes that the dealers do not have any vehicles on dump. At Rolls-Royce you always go with the demand, you never build on stocks, and this is the right way for a luxury brand.
When asked why, of all things, the demand for the SUV model Cullinan at Rolls-Royce in Switzerland has declined so sharply – compared to 2019, sales fell by more than 70 percent – an evasive answer follows in the absence of a plausible explanation: In general, the sales figures are for Switzerland to be used with caution, as many Rolls-Royce vehicles are bought in Switzerland but then registered abroad.
Electric goes with Rolls-Royce
The Rolls-Royce boss doesn’t seem to be concerned about the brand’s future. In particular, the ever lower CO2-He sees emission limits calmly. Rolls-Royce has been prepared and is now concentrating on the electrification of the models. “That also goes perfectly with the brand: high-torque and quiet. We don’t define ourselves by loud exhaust noises or loud engines. “
The plan is to launch the Specter at the end of 2023 as the first brand in the super luxury segment with a fully electric range. The entire offer should be fully electrified step by step by 2030.
But what if existing Rolls-Royce vehicles with internal combustion engines are no longer allowed to drive in Europe at some point? For Müller-Ötvös the question seems to be a kind of insult to majesty: “I cannot imagine that at some point the operation of Rolls-Royce models with internal combustion engines will be banned. The brand is now 117 years old and for me it is part of the cultural asset. You shouldn’t forget that the average mileage of a Rolls-Royce is very low. “
Some of the newly purchased Rolls-Royce will even only drive as far as the bank vault. However, according to Müller-Ötvös, it is not possible to quantify how many of the customers buy a vehicle from Goodwood as a pure investment property. “A certain number of customers appreciate the value retention and that these vehicles can be passed on to the next generation like a luxury watch.”