All we seem to have written about recently is the doom and gloom in the car industry. Bail-outs begged for, production shut-downs, low sales and lay-offs. But one manufacturer seems to be defying the odds, and has just posted record sales figures for the year.
Rolls Royce sales, in the year to the end of October, rose by 38% from the previous year, to a total of 945 cars. Now that may seem small beer (there were more Minis sold than that in August this year alone, which was reckoned to be the worst August on record for car sales), but at a starting price of £250k, that represents a pretty significant amount of change.
Rolls Royce - Record Sales Figures
So are Rolls Royce immune to the economic gloom around us? Well no, of course not, but in such a rarefied world the economies are very different. Rolls Royce buyers, on the whole, are not trying to work out if they can afford the repayments. They are typically going to own several properties, a boat and perhaps even a plane or two, so a paltry £250k+ on a car is not a real financial worry.
But Rolls Royce is being cautious, and has just laid off a bunch of temps, to be on the safe side. Rolls Royce Chief Tom Purves said:
“We’ve had a good year.. These are challenging economic times, but we have wealthy customers who know we can supply hand-built, high-quality cars customised to their specifications. No business is immune to downturns, but we have a degree of insulation.”
And I have to say, BMW deserve to be in this position with Rolls Royce. They have taken a car company in dire straights, with no focus, and turned it in to what it once was; the maker of the Best Car in the World. They’ve even managed to make it feel like a Rolls Royce should. Something the company itself managed to forget a generation ago.
Well done Rolls Royce (and thank you, BMW).
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