Rolls-Royce breaks sales records ahead of launch of first all-electric supercar

Rolls-Royce has unveiled its first pure electric car, Spectre (Rolls-Royce/PA)

Luxury car sales at Rolls-Royce hit a record in 2022, according to numbers out today from the British marque’s German parent, BMW.

A sharp rise in demand for bespoke cars led by the Middle East helped take sales last year past 6,000 vehicles for the first time in the global brand’s history. The 8% year-on-year rise came on the twentieth anniversary of the start of full production at Rolls-Royce’s Goodwood assembly line near Chichester, which became home to the brand after it was sold by previous owner Vickers.

Pre-orders for the first ever all-electric Rolls-Royce -- called Spectre --  exceeded what the company called its “ambitious expectations”. Spectre will be “the world’s first ultra-luxury electric super coupé” according to its maker. It will be delivered from the fourth quarter of this year, in “the first step toward building only fully-electric cars by the end of 2030” at Rolls.

Bespoke commissions for individualised cars also hit a record in the brand’s near 120-year history, with senior executives keen to highlight their credentials toward exclusivity alongside the landmark production numbers.

Torsten Müller-Ötvös, chief executive, said: “As a true house of luxury, sales are not our sole measure of success: we are not and never will be a volume manufacturer.

“The unrivalled bespoke creativity and quality achieved by our team here in Goodwood means that on average, our clients are now happy to pay around half a million euros [£440,000] for their unique motor car.”

The total number of cars sold was 6,021. The US was the biggest single market overall, while sales in China fell “in a single-digit drop” from a record level in 2021, as Covid lockdowns gripped the country.

To harness growing demand for bespoke vehicles in the Gulf, the company opened its first “invitation-only Private Office” outside Goodwood, in Dubai.