Looking at the sales recorded by the Rolls-Royce brand, and considering the Goodwood-based company launched its first SUV this year, one wouldn’t be surprised by the incredible success the Brits recorded in 2018. We’ve seen it all before, happening with Porsche and even BMW, car makers that nobody would’ve imagined making an SUV some 20 years ago, being not only saved by high-riding cars, but actually becoming increasingly profitable thanks to them.
What’s peculiar in the case of Rolls-Royce though, is the fact that the Cullinan SUV wasn’t actually on sale for the better part of the year, so sales of the high-riding model couldn’t have been so pivotal in setting a new record. Nevertheless, according to the company’s CEO, Torsten-Muller Otvos, 2018 was the best year in the company’s 115-year history, which does say quite a lot, not just about the brand but also about the times we live in.
“2018 was a most successful, record-breaking year for Rolls-Royce. We have seen growth in all our regions around the world,” said Müller-Ötvös, in a statement.“We set a formidable mark in 2018: I am confident it will prove the spur to even greater success in 2019.” That’s quite likely to happen, as deliveries of the Cullinan have kicked off and it seems like the world can’t get enough of the V12-powered freight train.
Since 2018 saw 4,107 Rolls-Royce cars delivered to customers, beating that target is going to be a statement in itself. Yes, that’s the amount of 3 Series BMW sells in a week, most likely, but you need to remember that we’re talking about the epitome of luxury here, cars with price tags that may get the hairs on the back of your neck rising in the first place. Selling so many of them isn’t an easy feat but 2019 will most likely beat that record.
