A record boom in super-rich customers buying highly-personalised Rolls-Royce limousines has sparked a £300million expansion of its boutique factory at Goodwood to boost production of bespoke and electric vehicles.
It comes as the company announced that while sales of cars last year were the third highest ever, a record proportion of the total were built to order as Bespoke models carrying a lucrative premium far in excess of their base price – including a specially commissioned one-off Arcadia limousine costing £25million and believed to be the world’s most expensive car.
Rolls-Royce said: ‘These commissions drew inspiration from a diverse spectrum of themes, ranging from spectacular natural phenomena and the marque’s heritage to cherished personal milestones and classic films.’
A total of 5,712 Rolls-Royce motor cars were delivered to customers 2024 – the third-highest annual sales figure on record and a fall of 320 or 5.3 per cent on last year’s record 6,032 motor cars to wealthy clients.
That in turn was just ahead of 2022’s previous record of 6,021 vehicles.
With more all-electric models poised to join Spectre in the Rolls-Royce line-up by 2030, the company said current global sales present ‘a balanced picture’ led by North America and Europe, but with a fall in China.
However, bosses revealed a review of the company’s operations he had given it more wriggle room and flexibility on its timetable and journey towards becoming a fully-electric luxury car company.
Rolls-Royce will invest £300m to create additional space at its Goodwood factory for ‘the increasingly complex and high-value coachbuild projects’ that hit record commission levels in 2024
Until now, Rolls-Royce has stuck resolutely to the mantra that it will be ‘fully electric by the end of 2030’.
But in a subtle but significant shift, CEO Chris Brownridge told This is Money that the current position was that it would be ‘fully capable of being fully electric by 2030’.
He went on to say that Rolls-Royce will still consider meeting demand from clients for traditional petrol cars beyond 2030: ‘We still see demand for our V12 cars,’ he told us.
Brownridge denied this represented a ‘softening’ of their EV intent and ambition, but rather a prudent and pragmatic response to the market and their rich customers, saying: ‘We have our eyes and ears open”
Feedback on the Spectre EV had been ‘glowing’ and their wealthy clients did not face problems with shortages of public charging points, he said, though he was conscious of some wider anti-EV sentiment affecting motor industry over the last two years which was not the case with Rolls-Royce or his clients.
The company, based in West Sussex, stressed its focus was on profitability, not just numbers sold, noting: ‘Bespoke content value increased by 10 per cent on average per motor car year-on-year, reaching the highest level in the company’s history.’
The firm has said previously that personalised bespoke extras can double the final price of a car.
Rolls-Royce said its 2024 performance was ‘in line with the marque’s forecasts and expectations’ given the introduction of a record four new models in 2024 – Cullinan Series II SUV and Ghost Series II limousine – together with their respective sportier Black Badge variants.
Though it declines to discuss the matter officially, Rolls-Royce is said by financial experts to be neck and neck with Italy’s Ferrari as the most profitable car company in the world.
A total of 5,712 Rolls-Royce motor cars were delivered to customers 2024 – the third-highest annual sales figure on record
In CEO Chris Brownridge’s first year at the helm of Rolls-Royce, the boutique car maker has seen a boom in custom limousines and bespole EVs
The performance marks the first full year at the helm for Brownridge, the ex boss of BMW UK and the first Briton to run Rolls-Royce in 14 years following the retirement of his German predecessor Torsten Mueller-Otvos.
The company said following ‘a landmark year for Bespoke’, its £300m investment will create additional space for ‘the increasingly complex and high-value coachbuild projects sought by clients who define luxury as something with a true personal meaning to them’.
It will also prepare the boutique factory for the marque’s transition ‘to an all-battery electric vehicle future’ with a second EV to be launched this year as part of its previously-stated aspiration to be all-electric by 2030.
It is ‘the single largest injection of capital since the plant opened on 1 January 2003,’ said Rolls-Royce.
Back then, the Goodwood plant employed around 300 people and produced just one car a day.
Now more than 2,500 people produce up to 28 cars per day. A further 7,500 are employed by UK suppliers.
Overall, in what Rolls-Royce dubbed a ‘globally balanced’ sales year, the biggest selling models in 2024 was – yet again – the Cullinan SUV followed by the latest all-electric Spectre fastback, then the Ghost limousine.
The flagship Phantom limousine ‘retained its status as the ultimate and rarest Rolls-Royce’ ahead of celebrating its centenary in 2025.
A record proportion of Rolls-Royce sales were bespoke models. This includes the stunning one-off Arcadia limousine, costing £25m and believed to be the world’s most expensive car
The Cullinan SUV was again Rolls-Royce’s best-selling model in 2024. The brand’s first jacked-up model has proved hugely successful among the affluent
The all-electric Spectre was Rolls-Royce’s second best-selling car in 2024, the British marque said
US still Rolls-Royce’s biggest market followed by China
North America remained Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ largest sales region accounting for around a third of total sales.
China was the second largest market but sales dropped from more than a quarter to over a fifth of the total in the face of the country’s ‘economic headwinds’. But it enjoyed ‘sustained demand for Bespoke’ which was ‘reflecting a continuous increase in younger clientele.’
There were record sales in Europe (accounting for a fifth of sales), the Middle East and Asia-Pacific ( both having more than 1 in 10 sales).
Elsewhere, the United Arab Emirates, Germany and Japan also achieved record sales and enjoyed a ‘significant uplift in demand for Bespoke features’ and ‘some of the most ambitious Bespoke commissions.’
Smaller but fast-growing markets included Malaysia, Thailand, and the Netherlands.
Another electric Rolls-Royce expected in 2025
As it prepares to add more EV models to its line-up, the first all-electric Spectre was the firm’s biggest selling model in Europe and the second-biggest seller overall.
Rolls-Royce said: ‘Clients have confirmed Spectre’s electric drivetrain is perfectly suited to Rolls-Royce, amplifying the attributes for which the marque is most renowned: silence, ‘waftability’ and the unique ‘magic-carpet ride’ experience.
‘Spectre’s arrival in markets around the world has confirmed the highly successful launch of this innovative motor car.’
It added: ‘Rolls-Royce Motor Cars looks forward with confidence to 2025 when the marque will be unveiling its next electric motor car.’
CEO Brownridge said of the performance, investment and factory expansion: ‘It is a significant vote of confidence in the Rolls-Royce marque, securing the foundation for our future here in the UK.’
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