Chinese boost Rolls Royce sales

Phantoms and Ghosts are popular with wealthy Chinese entrepreneurs. Photo / Supplied

Luxury carmaker to open more dealerships in China to cater for growing demand

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars plans to sell 800 cars in China in 2011 as it aims to raise sales eightfold in two years in the world's largest car market.

The carmaker delivered almost 500 cars in China in the first 10 months of 2010, compared with about 100 for the whole of last year, Paul Harris, the company's Asia Pacific regional director, said in an interview.

Rolls-Royce includes Hong Kong in its China sales.

The luxury marque, which competes with Volkswagen's Bentley and Daimler's Maybach, is selling more of its Phantom and Ghost sedans in China as rising incomes in the world's fastest growing major economy boost sales of ultra-luxury cars.

China has 875,000 millionaires, 6.1 per cent more than last year, according to a report in April by the Shanghai-based Hurun Research Institute.

"The Chinese market in general is showing only one direction," Harris said. "That's exceptional growth, and it's going to be ongoing for quite a while."

A Rolls-Royce Phantom starts at 6.6 million yuan ($1.3 million) and buyers pay 4.1 million yuan for a Ghost in China where consumers pay higher taxes on imported luxury models. In the US, the Phantom starts at US$380,000 ($509,000).

Munich-based BMW bought the rights to Rolls-Royce cars for £45 million ($94 million) in 1998, and began building them at a new factory in 2003.

China will become Rolls-Royce's biggest market, surpassing the US, as early as next year as the Ghost spurs demand for its cars, Singapore-based Harris said. The company sold about a third of its cars in the US in 2009.

Rolls-Royce may add as many as four more dealers in China by the middle of next year, in second-tier cities such as Tianjin and Wuhan, he said. The Goodwood, England-based carmaker, headed by chief executive officer Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, currently has eight dealerships in the nation.

The latest Ghost model, introduced in December, has boosted growth for the exclusive marque after the financial crisis depressed sales 17 per cent in 2009.

Rolls-Royce delivered 2007 cars through October worldwide, already surpassing the record since BMW took over of 1212 in 2008, and its 1002 deliveries last year.

The Phantom comes with a 6.75 litre engine and soft leather upholstery as standard. An extended wheelbase version of the Phantom costs 8.2 million yuan, the company said.

Chinese customers ordering a Phantom now will have to wait until late May next year to receive their cars, Harris said.

"It's a story of success for Chinese entrepreneurial businesses, the Chinese entrepreneur works hard and wants to reward himself for a job well done," he said.

- Bloomberg