Rolls says it must sell 1,000-plus cars annually to post profit
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Rolls says it must sell 1,000-plus cars annually to post profit
http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102120
Rolls says it must sell 1,000-plus cars annually to post profit; stretched Phantom, convertible to aid effort
JENS MEINERS | Automotive News Europe
Posted Date: 4/8/05
MUNICH, Germany -- Rolls-Royce must sell more than 1,000 cars annually to be profitable, its former head says.
Last year the ultra brand sold 792 units globally of its only model, the Phantom sedan.
But Stefan Krause, BMW AG's board member in charge of finance, believes Rolls-Royce will become profitable in the long term, helped by two new models: a stretched Phantom and a convertible.
"We calculate the margins over the entire model cycle. If we miss the target in one year, we have to exceed it in the future," Krause said last month during a news conference at which the company announced its financial results. Last year "was still a year for developing the brand and the dealer network. Rolls-Royce is a long-term business," he said.
BMW acquired Rolls-Royce on Jan. 1, 2003.
Krause was interim head of Rolls-Royce from October until Feb. 1, when Ian Robertson, former head of BMW's South African operations, became CEO.
Krause had filled in after previous Rolls-Royce CEO Karl-Heinz Kalbfell left the company to head Alfa Romeo.
Rolls-Royce expects its new convertible, which probably will be called the Corniche, to account for 30 percent to 40 percent of the company's annual production. Sales are likely to start in the third quarter of 2006.
The convertible, which is based on the Phantom platform, will take styling cues from the 100EX concept shown at the 2004 Geneva auto show, including the eye-catching suicide doors that are hinged at the rear.
The stretched Phantom was unveiled at the Geneva auto show last month and goes on sale this year.
Rolls-Royce's rival Maybach, which is part of the Mercedes-Benz car group, reported sales of 500 units last year. Maybach's sale target also was 1,000 units. But Mercedes car group CEO Eckhard Cordes says the Maybach brand, launched three years ago, makes money.
Rolls says it must sell 1,000-plus cars annually to post profit; stretched Phantom, convertible to aid effort
JENS MEINERS | Automotive News Europe
Posted Date: 4/8/05
MUNICH, Germany -- Rolls-Royce must sell more than 1,000 cars annually to be profitable, its former head says.
Last year the ultra brand sold 792 units globally of its only model, the Phantom sedan.
But Stefan Krause, BMW AG's board member in charge of finance, believes Rolls-Royce will become profitable in the long term, helped by two new models: a stretched Phantom and a convertible.
"We calculate the margins over the entire model cycle. If we miss the target in one year, we have to exceed it in the future," Krause said last month during a news conference at which the company announced its financial results. Last year "was still a year for developing the brand and the dealer network. Rolls-Royce is a long-term business," he said.
BMW acquired Rolls-Royce on Jan. 1, 2003.
Krause was interim head of Rolls-Royce from October until Feb. 1, when Ian Robertson, former head of BMW's South African operations, became CEO.
Krause had filled in after previous Rolls-Royce CEO Karl-Heinz Kalbfell left the company to head Alfa Romeo.
Rolls-Royce expects its new convertible, which probably will be called the Corniche, to account for 30 percent to 40 percent of the company's annual production. Sales are likely to start in the third quarter of 2006.
The convertible, which is based on the Phantom platform, will take styling cues from the 100EX concept shown at the 2004 Geneva auto show, including the eye-catching suicide doors that are hinged at the rear.
The stretched Phantom was unveiled at the Geneva auto show last month and goes on sale this year.
Rolls-Royce's rival Maybach, which is part of the Mercedes-Benz car group, reported sales of 500 units last year. Maybach's sale target also was 1,000 units. But Mercedes car group CEO Eckhard Cordes says the Maybach brand, launched three years ago, makes money.
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