LexFather

As the number of people with deep pockets grows, Rolls-Royce struggles to keep up with the tremendous demand for their luxury vehicles such as the Phantom and the Phantom Drophead Coupe. This year they sold just under 1000 cars. In 2008 the company hopes to increase production by 10% after investing $19.8m and recruiting an additional 300-400 people at its manufacturing plant in Goodwood, West Sussex, which opened in 2002.

Approximately 90% of the vehicles produced at Goodwood are exported, with an increasing number of them going into expanding markets such as China where the economy is producing more and more demand for luxury goods. “This year we should sell 100 cars in China while last year the figure was just 71. That’s not bad when you consider we had not sold a single Rolls-Royce vehicle in China prior to 2003.” Simon Robertson, chairman of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, told the Financial Times.

With that all said RR is also expected to debut a new coupe based on the 101EX concept we saw last year at the Geneva Motor Show, along with an all-new sedan which has been confirmed to be positioned below the Phantom lineup. Both are scheduled to arrive by the end of the decade, however no firm dates have been set yet.

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/i...up-with-demand

UDel

This high demand is not just wealthy buyers but high end limo companies purchasing these cars. I sat in a Phantom that was used as a limo at an auto show and have seen where they are options at certain places.

mmarshall

A Rolls is also BIG and HEAVY.....like cars used to be, decades ago. It offers the weight, smooth ride, and crash-protection that many of today's CAFE-downsized, plastic-built, comparitively lightweight cars don't.

blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

I just saw 2 Phatoms while staying in the same city in China in 2 weeks..
God, rich people over there...
7s and Ss are so common there, no wonder deep pockets want to differenciate themself from the norm.

sdbrandon

Same in other Asian countries. They do not want Chinese or Japanese cars. Too common.

Same here in the U.S. lot sof folks, wealthy or not opt for foreign brands regardless of reliability, price, MPG, etc.

STIG

None of them are yours, so what's the point?

Big Andy

I'm quite surprised by this comment because you frequently bemoan the weight of modern cars with all their extra safety equipment and accessories?? In fact cars today aren't comparitively lightweight if you look at how their weight has crept up over the last 20 years. Anyway, lightweight does not have to mean poor crash protection - good, efficient design is a far better way to guarantee survivability than adding weight.