GOODWOOD, England – 2022 set a record for Rolls Royce, with the prestigious British marque selling more than 6 000 cars for the first time ever in a year.

A total of 6,021 Rolls-Royce vehicles were sold during 2022, with their Cullinan SUV being the company’s top-selling vehicle globally, although the Ghost saloon was still the most popular vehicle in the Asia-Pacific region. Rolls-Royce says its order book for all models stretches “far into 2023”.

2022 was also a record year for the carmaker’s bespoke commissions, which commanded a higher value than ever.

Although the United States was Rolls-Royce’s biggest market overall in 2023, followed by China, it was the Middle East that led the way with bespoke commissions.

To better harness that demand, Rolls-Royce opened an invitation-only private office in Dubai last year, this being the first one outside Goodwood in England, and the company plans to open additional offices in other countries in the coming years.

“As a true House of Luxury, sales are not our sole measure of success; we are not and never will be a volume manufacturer,” said Rolls-Royce chief executive Torsten Müller-Ötvös.

“Bespoke IS Rolls-Royce, and commissions were also at record levels last year, with our clients’ requests becoming ever more imaginative and technically demanding – a challenge we enthusiastically embrace.

“The unrivalled bespoke creativity and quality achieved by our team here in Goodwood means that on average, our clients are now happy to pay around half a million Euros (about R9 million) for their unique motor car.”

In addition to bespoke creations based on its existing products, Rolls-Royce also sees coach-build products as being a key element in its long-term strategy. Following the delivery of the third and final Boat Tail coach-built commission last year, the company says future projects are already in development.

As with most carmakers, Rolls-Royce is also working towards a battery-powered future, and wants to go all-electric by the end of this year. Last year, the company revealed its first electric product, the Spectre, which is set to go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2023.

IOL Motoring

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What recession? High demand sees Rolls-Royce set new sales record