Opinion: Even in a down economy, Rolls-Royce is on a roll

Filed under: Sedan, Rolls-Royce, Luxury

Limited Volume, Big Margins Spell Success



Bigger isn't always better, especially when it comes to selling super luxury. Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös expects the British automaker to again post a record year, despite the economic troubles in Europe and weak growth in both the US and China.

"It is not all doom and gloom out there," Müller-Ötvös explains, noting that the declining sales in Europe and elsewhere have been offset by good performance for the marque in the Middle East, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Russia.

You won't see an SUV from Rolls-Royce.

The key to this success is remaining focused on its strengths by limiting itself to what it knows best, very expensive cars and cars alone. As a result, you won't see an SUV from Rolls-Royce.

"Our clear strategy is to stick to this segment of 200,000 Euros and up," he explains, adding because of the limited volume of about 3,500 cars per year, "we are not in a situation where we need to fill up excess capacity in the plant."

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Matt DeLorenzo is the former editor-in-chief of Road & Track and has covered the auto industry for 35 years, including stints at Automotive News and AutoWeek. He has authored books including VW's New Beetle, Chrysler's Modern Concept Cars, and Corvette Dynasty.

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Continue reading Even in a down economy, Rolls-Royce is on a roll

Even in a down economy, Rolls-Royce is on a roll originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 05 Dec 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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