A decade ago, the average Rolls-Royce was selling for a quarter of a million euros. Now, it’s double that, the firm surpassing the €500,000 mark for the first time in 2022. Some Phantoms go for more than four times that.
Behind the brand’s rise to the very pinnacle of the industry is boss Torsten Müller-Ötvös, who remarkably is in his 13th year leading the Goodwood firm. Such longevity is rarely seen at the top of a car company, but with success like Müller-Ötvös’s, why change things?
The average sale price metric is important as it is the one for which Müller-Ötvös would like to be judged. The company enjoyed a record year for volumes as well in 2022 (6021 cars), yet such numbers don’t interest him and have no bearing on how exclusive Rolls-Royce’s cars remain as volume grows. Indeed, Rolls-Royce customers are far from put off by the doubling in cost, it’s something they covet, and it’s that ever-growing price tag that sets the barrier of entry, thus preserving the exclusivity of the brand.
“If it’s 7000 cars, it doesn’t make a difference,” he told me recently at the launch of the firm’s first electric car, the Rolls-Royce Spectre. “It’s about how you approach clients and deal with them. Our clients love the fact it’s €500,000 [a car] now, as it’s an exclusive club. This number [the average price of sale] defines how exclusive we are, not whether it’s 6000 or 6500 cars sold.”
The impact of Müller-Ötvös in Rolls-Royce’s rise cannot be underestimated. He lives and breathes not just the company but the needs of those buying its cars. He is always in contact with customers, having dinners with them and hosting events to not just talk about cars but also understanding their other interests, and products and brands that they enjoy.
Müller-Ötvös is complimentary on just how creative his customers are with some of the colours and specifications his customers create. The design team will always help push a customer in a certain direction should they be unsure how to ‘commission’ their Rolls-Royce, but this is rarely needed due to how clear-minded customers are.
“We’re not the taste police,” he said. “Don’t judge based on how it looks at Goodwood, or European tastes; judge it on how it looks in Kuala Lumpur or Abu Dhabi, in its natural habitat. There it looks spectacular.”