Rise of lucrative bespoke luxury cars drives £300m expansion at Rolls-Royce in third best sales year

A record growth in super-rich customers buying highly personalized Rolls-Royce limousines has led to a £300m expansion of its boutique Goodwood factory to boost production of bespoke and electric vehicles.

It comes as the company announced that while car sales last year were the third highest on record, a record share of the total was built to order as bespoke models at a lucrative premium well above the base price – including a specially commissioned car. of the Arcadia limousine which costs £25 million and is believed to be the most expensive car in the world.

Rolls-Royce said: ‘These commissions were inspired by a broad spectrum of themes, ranging from spectacular natural phenomena and the brand’s heritage to cherished personal milestones and classic films.’

A total of 5,712 Rolls-Royce cars were delivered to customers in 2024 – the third-highest annual sales figure ever and a drop of 320 or 5.3 percent from last year’s record of 6,032 cars to wealthy customers.

That, in turn, was slightly better than the previous record set in 2022 of 6,021 vehicles.

With more all-electric models set to join Specter in the Rolls-Royce range by 2030, the company said current global sales show ‘a balanced picture’, led by North America and Europe, but with a decline in China.

However, bosses unveiled an overview of the company’s operations and had given it more wiggle room and flexibility on its timetable and journey to becoming an all-electric luxury car company.

So far, Rolls-Royce is firmly sticking to the mantra that it will ‘be all-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 customer demand for traditional petrol cars after 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 cautious and pragmatic response to the market and their wealthy customers, saying: ‘We have our eyes and ears open’

Feedback on the Specter EV has been “glowing” and their wealthy customers had no issues with public charging point shortages, he said, although he was aware of broader anti-EV sentiment affecting the car industry over the past two years, which was not the case. is the case with Rolls-Royce or its customers.

The company, based in West Sussex, emphasized that the focus was on profitability, not just numbers sold, noting: ‘The value of bespoke content increased by an average of 10 per cent per car year-on-year, reaching the highest level in the company’s history. .’

The company has previously said that personalized, bespoke extras could double the final price of a car.

Rolls-Royce said its 2024 performance was ‘in line with the brand’s forecasts and expectations’, given the introduction of a record four new models in 2024 – Cullinan Series II SUV and Ghost Series II limousine – along with their respective sportier Black Badge variants.

Although Rolls-Royce refuses to discuss the matter officially, financial experts say it is neck-and-neck with Italy’s Ferrari as the most profitable car company in the world.

The gig marks the first full year at the helm for Brownridge, the ex-BMW UK boss and the first Briton to lead Rolls-Royce in 14 years following the retirement of his German predecessor Torsten Mueller-Otvos.

The company said the £300 million investment, following ‘a landmark year for Bespoke’, will create additional space for ‘the increasingly complex and valuable coachbuild projects sought by clients who define luxury as something with real personal meaning for them’.

It will also prepare the boutique factory for the brand’s transition ‘towards an all-battery future’, with a second electric car launching this year as part of its previously stated aim to be fully electric by 2030.

It is “the largest capital injection since the factory opened on January 1, 2003,” Rolls-Royce said.

At the time, the Goodwood factory employed around 300 people and produced only one car per day.

Now more than 2,500 people produce up to 28 cars per day. A further 7,500 employees are employed by UK suppliers.

Overall, the best-selling models in 2024, in what Rolls-Royce called a “globally balanced” sales year, were (again) the Cullinan SUV, followed by the latest all-electric Specter fastback and then the Ghost limousine.

The flagship Phantom limousine ‘retained its status as the ultimate and rarest Rolls-Royce’ before celebrating its centenary in 2025.

The US is still the largest market for Rolls-Royce, followed by China

North America remained Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ largest sales region, accounting for approximately a third of total sales.

China was the second largest market, but sales fell from over a quarter to over a fifth of the total due to the country’s ‘economic headwinds’. But there was ‘sustained demand for Bespoke’, which ‘reflected a continued increase in younger customers’.

There were record sales in Europe (accounting for a fifth of sales), the Middle East and Asia Pacific (both with more than 1 in 10 sales).

Elsewhere, the United Arab Emirates, Germany and Japan also achieved record sales and enjoyed a “significant increase 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 is expected in 2025

As it prepares to add more EV models to its range, the first all-electric Specter was the company’s best-selling model in Europe and the second best-selling model overall.

Rolls-Royce said: ‘Customers have confirmed that Specter’s electric powertrain is a perfect fit for Rolls-Royce, enhancing the qualities for which the brand is best known: silence, waftability and the unique ‘magic-carpet ride’ – experience.

‘The arrival of Specter in markets around the world has confirmed the highly successful launch of this innovative car.’

It added: ‘Rolls-Royce Motor Cars looks confidently to 2025, when the brand will unveil its next electric car.’

Commenting on the performance, investment and factory expansion, CEO Brownridge said: ‘It is an important vote of confidence in the Rolls-Royce brand, securing the foundation for our future here in Britain.’