Increasing volumes 49% year-over-year and reporting record sales in most markets, Rolls-Royce reported that it sold the most cars in its 117-year history in 2021.
The luxury brand sold 5,586 cars worldwide last year, 1,836 more than in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic had a near universal impact on automakers, and 461 more than the previous record set in 2019 before the pandemic.
It is the highest volume recorded by the firm since it was founded as Rolls-Royce Limited in 1906, which it attributes to all-time record sales in most regions and high demand for each of its five current models.
Rolls-Royce said that the sales volumes achieved in 2021 make it the “undisputed leader in the segment of more than $ 300,000.
No precise figures have been released for each car, but Rolls-Royce says growth has been driven primarily by the Ghost sedan, its newest model, and bolstered by the launch of the more dynamically oriented Ghost Black Badge in October.
The firm also reports steady sales of the larger Phantom and its SUV sibling Cullinan, and has orders running well into the third quarter of 2022.
Its Goodwood factory is operating at full capacity, on a two-shift pattern, to fulfill these orders. Current delivery times are around one year.
Sales of second-hand Rolls-Royce models under the Provenance brand also peaked, while custom orders such as the Phantom Oribe and Phantom Tempus remain at record levels.
Rolls-Royce unveiled the extravagant $ 25 million Boat Tail in 2021 as a declaration of intent for its dedicated bodybuilding division, which is expected to produce a highly exclusive and fully customized new model every two years.
Also in 2021, Rolls-Royce gave the first details of its debut EV, the Specter coupe, which is expected by the end of 2023.
Rolls-Royce says that road development testing of the Specter began recently, revealing the overall final design of the all-electric coupe, and by the time of its introduction, the Specter will have passed more than 1.5 million miles of testing, the equivalent of 400 years of use.
CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös called the 2021 sales figures “enormously encouraging as we prepare for the historic launch of the Specter.”
