Rolls Royce to set up shop in South America

Rolls Royce are planning a presence in South America, with plans afoot for new Rolls Royce Showrooms in Brazil and Chile.

The paradox of the current economic malaise  is that luxury goods – and luxury cars in particular – seem immune from the problems of the mainstream. Rolls Royce – to many still the epitome of luxury motoring – is doing very well, and is now planning an expansion in to South America.

The cynical may say that Rolls Royce want a piece of the drug money floating round South America in their coffers, but South America is far more than a bunch of drug barons freely spending illicit cash.

Much of the cash in South America comes from commodities like silver, corn and oil, but telecommunication is a huge growth area (Mexican telecommunications baron Carlos Slim is one of the richest men in the world, and although Mexico is Latin America rather than South America, the Slim Empire spreads throughout the region), and the whole area’s wealth is growing quickly.

Two of the most affluent countries in South America are Brazil and Chile, and that’s where Rolls Royce are planning on establishing a presence.

Buoyed by rising sales – much of it on the back of the more ‘affordable’ Rolls Royce Ghost – Rolls Royce are bullish about the future, and are planning to increase their presence worldwide to around 100 outlets.

Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, Rolls Royce boss Torsten Muller-Otvos said he wants to increase the Rolls Royce global presence:

We want to build up a business in Latin America from scratch. The total car market there is very much progressing and while the total market is progressing you will also see more and more luxury cars sold, so for that reason I think it’s definitely worth entering that market.

The plans are modest at the moment – Muller-Otvos says RR ‘…wants to plant a seed and then after a couple of years start to harvest it’ – but a vanguard in Brazil and Chile could also see Rolls Royce heading to more areas of affluence in South America like Argentina.

The closest Rolls Royce comes to serving customers in South America is the Rolls Royce dealership in Mexico City.