Maintaining our winning ways

Today, I take great pleasure in announcing record 2021 sales results for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. We are used to setting records at Rolls-Royce but I’m keen this should not detract from the scale of our accomplishments last year – particularly given the continuing pandemic and its associated global economic impacts.

In 2021, we delivered 5,586 motor cars to our esteemed clients in over 50 countries and territories worldwide – an all-time, historic record in the 117-year history of our great marque.?This accomplishment represents an increase of 49% on the previous year. This overall figure includes all-time record sales in most of our sales regions, including Greater China, the Americas and Asia-Pacific, and in multiple countries across the world.

This is a truly remarkable achievement.

We saw extremely strong demand for all Rolls-Royce models, led by Phantom, our pinnacle product. Growth was driven principally by our new Ghost in its first full year of availability, boosted further by the launch of the new Black Badge Ghost in October.

This, together with continuing strong demand for our super-luxury SUV, Cullinan, has filled our order books well into the third quarter of 2022. If you order a Rolls-Royce today, you will expect to take delivery of it about a year from now!?

Our Provenance (pre-owned) programme also enjoyed exceptional sales results in 2021, achieving an all-time record.

Two crucial factors have enabled us to meet this sustained and unprecedented demand. The first is our highly flexible manufacturing process.?Our factory, here, at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood, in West Sussex is currently running super-smoothly at near-maximum capacity.

The second is, of course, our dedicated professional team of over 2,000 people, here at Goodwood and around the world, coupled with a well-motivated network of dealer partners in around 50 countries and territories. Together, their skills, experienced hands, creative minds and unstinting dedication are truly our greatest assets. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank and congratulate every one of them: it is my privilege and pleasure to work alongside them every day.

We will continue to invest in our manufacturing plant in readiness for electrification, and in future talent, with a record 37 new apprentices set to join us this summer.

The scale of our 2021 accomplishments is plain to see, but let me be absolutely clear: Rolls-Royce is not, never has been and never will be, a volume-driven business. We are no longer simply an automotive manufacturer; we have transited into becoming a true luxury house, focussed on creating the very best and most precious luxury products in the world. At the very heart of this ethos lies the requirement for rarity and – take it from me – Rolls-Royces will remain rare and precious.?

Bespoke IS Rolls-Royce, and a principal reason our customers come to us. Commissions continue to run at record levels with every car made at Goodwood now including Bespoke elements.

For those customers wishing to personalise every aspect of their commission, we have created a distinct department within the company, Rolls-Royce Coachbuild. In May, we signalled our long-term commitment to contemporary coachbuilding with the unveiling of the first of three coachbuilt masterpieces, named Boat Tail.

As we enter 2022, we have our eyes firmly on the future.?Last month we began the exhaustive on-road testing program of our first all-electric car, Spectre. Between now and Spectre’s market launch in the fourth quarter of 2023, the car will undergo the most punishing testing protocol ever conceived for a Rolls-Royce. Its 2.5-million-kilometre journey will take it to all four corners of the world, simulating more than 400 years of use in some of the most extreme conditions on Earth.

So, in short, 2021 was an all-time record year for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and our future is secured by an inventive future product strategy and a clear roadmap towards full electrification of our entire offering by 2030.