Rolls-Royce
China's luxury car dealers cut prices as economy slows
The economic slowdown is beginning to affect the Chinese luxury car market, with dealers cutting the prices of top-end models such as BMW and Audi.
However, the most expensive marque, Rolls-Royce, has yet to feel the chill. "We are in a different segment," said Roll-Royce's director of sales and marketing, Jolyon Nash, on Tuesday. "When you look at it worldwide, there is always a strong demand for super luxury goods."
Rolls-Royce eyes Thailand, Vietnam
Ultra-luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce is looking to expand into Thailand and Vietnam, a top executive said recently, after it posted record sales in 2011 with Asia its fastest-growing market.
The German-owned UK carmaker announced on Monday sales jumped 31 percent to 3,538 vehicles last year, up from the 2,711 units in 2010, and was the highest-ever annual total in the company’s 107-year history.
Rolls-Royce car sales hit new record
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has reported a 31 percent rise in sales during 2011 to 3,538 cars.
The growth rate was weaker than that seen last year, when sales rose 150 percent.
Sales in the Asia Pacific region rose 47 percent.
Rich in China get richer only faster
China's emergence as a car industry superconsumer is evident in Jinbao Street. This leafy promenade between the Forbidden City and the central business district opened in 2002 on the site of demolished hutong (alleyway) neighbourhoods. It aims to be Ginza – Tokyo's shopping and entertainment district – plus Mayfair and Park Avenue all rolled into one, with five-star hotels, plush restaurants and designer boutiques. But its most striking feature is a clutch of car showrooms. One side of the street is home to Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Maserati, Jaguar and BMW.
China sales up 10 times for Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce plans to add three new dealerships this year in Chongqing, Tianjin and Wuhan, bringing its total number of China sales outlets to 10 – second only to the US. The company has 81 showrooms worldwide.
The expansion comes as the luxury marque's mainland sales soared by more than 1,000 percent last year, to 336 cars from 29 cars in 2009, according to data from automotive consultancy J.D. Power and Associates.
Rolls-Royce aims to raise China sales eightfold
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars plans to sell 800 cars in China next year, aiming to raise sales eightfold in two years in the world's largest auto market, Bloomberg reported.
Sales of Rolls-Royce's Phantom and Ghost sedans have seen a boost in China, where the number of millionaires has reached 875,000, 6.1 percent more than last year, according to the Hurun Research Institute of China.
India's super rich drive Rolls Royce sales
The growing number of India's super rich is reflected not just in the Merrill Lynch wealth report, but in the number of Rolls Royce cars on the country's streets.
Sales of these super luxury vehicles, priced in the INR2.5–4.2 crore (INR25-42 million, USD562,240-944,733) range, saw a nine-fold increase to 50 units in September 2010. This is, incidentally, half the number of Rolls Royce cars sold in India since 2005 when the company opened its first dealership.
Luxury car market booming in China
China's market for luxury autos is unlike any in Europe or North America, said Ian Robertson, chairman of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. China may have complex regulatory challenges and different fashions, but there is also a rapidly growing appetite for luxury goods, including high-end autos.
And while sales of luxury cars still lag behind those in the West, the complex China market is of growing importance to the brands at the upper end of the industry, Robertson commented.
