Rolls-Royce sales surge past 6000 for second record year
Pre-orders for the Rolls-Royce Spectre – the marque's first EV – have exceeded expectations
Average cost of a Bespoke car tops £430,000; order bank stretches well into 2023
Rolls-Royce set another new annual sales record in 2022 as some 6021 cars left its Goodwood factory – an 8% improvement on the previous record of 5586 cars, set in 2021.
It was the first time the luxury marque’s sales exceeded 6000 cars in any one year, with the majority shipped to the Americas.
China remained Rolls-Royce’s second-largest market despite a single-digit drop in sales compared with 2021; offset by growth in the Europe and Asia-Pacific regions.
The company also set a new record for profitability thanks to customisation: commissions from its Bespoke programme reached their highest average value at more than €500,000 (£430,000) per car.
The Middle East championed this growth in average values as the leading region for demand of ‘high-Bespoke’ (extensively customised) cars.
Rolls-Royce’s existing order bank stretches “far into 2023,” confirmed CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös, with the Cullinan SUV accounting for the majority of demand.
Pre-orders for the Rolls-Royce Spectre – the marque’s first battery-electric car – have exceeded the company’s “most ambitious expectations,” it said in a statement. Deliveries of the new model will begin in the fourth quarter of this year.
Record profitability and sales volumes position Rolls-Royce well for another bumper year in 2023, despite the threat of global economic downturn.
Müller-Ötvös said: “Our business is built on extremely strong foundations, and we have secured advance orders stretching far into 2023.
“And while we are not immune to global challenges and economic headwinds, thanks to our balanced worldwide sales strategy, we are cautiously optimistic that 2023 will be a strong year for Rolls-Royce.”
The company also expanded its Goodwood workforce in 2023, adding some 150 employees to its ranks including more than 100 apprentices and trainees.
“Their contribution extends beyond their exceptional skills, talents, knowledge and experience; it is their individual personalities and perspectives that give the marque its strength and character,” added Müller-Ötvös.
