Rolls-Royce sells record 6,000 vehicles

ROLLS-ROYCE claimed ‘a great British success story’ after selling more than 6,000 cars for the first time in the company’s 118-year history.

It announced sales in 2022 of 6,021 cars – an increase of 8 per cent or 435 cars on the previous record of 5,586 set in 2021.

More personalisation and luxury extras – driven by demand from the Middle East – had supported the ‘record profitability achievement’, said Rolls-Royce chief executive Torsten Muller-Otvos (pictured above). He suggested the pandemic had fostered a ‘life can be short’ mentality among the wealthy. And the company, based at Goodwood in West Sussex but owned by German marque BMW, is ‘cautiously optimistic’ that 2023 will also prove to be a strong year. The cheapest Rolls-Royce, the Ghost, costs more than £280,000.

Luxury rival Bentley also announced record sales. The Crewe-based firm, owned by Volkswagen, said it delivered 15,174 cars in 2022, up 4 per cent on 2021, the rise driven by demand in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.