Rolls-Royce Has No Plans to Move Down Market

Rolls-RoyceRolls-RoyceUnited Kingdom, 1904 > present31 models
1281 photos
1 video
says that it has no plans to move further down market after debuting the Wraith coupe at the Geneva Motor Show. The company cites that the reason many people buy its cars is for exclusivity, and while increased sales might help the bottom line for a while, it would harm the brand in the long term. 

The WraithRolls-Royce WraithUnited Kingdom, 2013 > present1 serie
1 Version
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, which is based on the GhostRolls-Royce GhostUnited Kingdom, 2010 > present15 versions
56 photos
, will retail for about €245,000 when it goes on sale later in the year. That makes it among the brand's cheapest cars. However, it is also the brand's fastest. Power comes from a 624hp V12 that will get it to 60mph in 4.4 seconds. 

"The fact is that we are not looking to increase production – there is no room to grow the factory – and there is a strong positive attached to the exclusivity of our cars by customers. It would be easy to look to build £150,000 cars, but the reason we can sell in the £200,000 price bracket is that our cars are rare. Exclusivity is a principle of our company, and that is why we will not follow every trend,” said company CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös.

Müller-Ötvös also discussed the company's future. He said that it plans to add a new model roughly every two years, but it is not convinced that an SUV is a right fit for its image. 

“I wouldn’t exclude any segments, but I can’t imagine an SUV in our line-up as I stand here today. Not one customer has come to us asking for one," he said. 

Source: Autocar