- Rolls-Royce announces it's sold out until at least September.
- Phantom saloons are sold out until October.
- Rolls-Royce says sales in the first half of the year were up by almost 200 percent versus 2009.
GOODWOOD, England — The wealthiest auto buyers are apparently loosening their purse strings again. Rolls-Royce reported on Thursday that all of its models are sold out "until at least September" and that production here is "at record levels."
"The company is currently building 15 cars a day, including Phantom and Ghost models, with more than 300 cars built in June — both record numbers since the company launched in January 2003," said Rolls-Royce in a statement. "All models are sold out until at least September, with Phantom saloons sold out until October."
The Ghost is the so-called "entry level" Rolls-Royce, with a $245,000 sticker price. The uplevel Phantom starts at $380,000.
Rolls-Royce said sales in the first half of the year were up by almost 200 percent versus 2009. "Substantial growth was seen in all regions, especially China," it said.
The report on the robust performance at Rolls-Royce reflects a Thursday report by the International Monetary Fund that the global economy is unlikely to slip back into recession over the next few years. However, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on July 2 that the national unemployment rate is 9.5 percent. Traditionally, the U.S. government says full employment occurs when just 4 percent of the population is unemployed.
Inside Line says: Happy days are here again, at least for those with deep pockets and the desire for the most expensive cars on the planet. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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jm1212 says:
01:16 PM, 07/12/2010
They need to redesign that Phantom already...its getting really dated. it would be a shame if it went way of the Arnage and just became an also-ran for old people that just lived off of the name.
brandon1990 says:
04:46 AM, 07/11/2010
@bearsdkillz they do have a new car. The Ghost. It's in the article
johnmarco says:
09:20 AM, 07/10/2010
Twas a good year for both Jay-Z and the Saudis.
bearsdkillz says:
09:08 PM, 07/09/2010
The phantom has been out for more than half a decade now... isn't it time for a New one Rolls Royce??
GET ON IT. Bently just put out a new car while this article was put up.
nervoussurgeon says:
05:39 PM, 07/09/2010
Rolls-Royce said sales in the first half of the year were up by almost 200 percent versus 2009. "Substantial growth was seen in all regions, especially China," it said.
In a society that is completely and utterly obsessed with wealth, RR and Aston Martin, the Jewels of the British automotive crown, have found a new home as well as renewed hope for survival and growth. Please bear with me as I share with you a little piece of history with a twist:
Two hundred years ago, the British tried in earnest to sell mechanized miracles of the Industrial Revolution to the Chinese, but could not overcome 3000 years of feudal tradition. Grown in India with free colonial labor, and marked up 1000%, Jardine Matheson, the famed Scottish Investment House, finally found the one thing "British" that the Chinese would buy. With Parliamentary backing, Jardin Matheson has the distinction of being the world's first multinational drug cartel, that successfully sold opium to millions of addicts living in the coastal regions of China. When the Chinese government tried to halt the sale, the result was the Opium War; a truly ignominious period in the histories of both nations when the British under Royal Authority, sailed gunships up the Yangtze River, blowing up everything in its path, to forcibly "legalize" the sale of opium in China. This is how two of the greatest cities in Asia, Hong Kong and Shanghai came to be born.
Two-hundred years later, the English have once again found a extremely profitable "niche" in China. Completely oblivious to the desperate need for investments in infrastructure, healthcare and education, now 1.4 billion Chinese can flaunt their new-found wealth as never before. No doubt a shiny new Rolls Royce Ghost would be the perfect complement to the Black Louis Vuitton Man-purse held tightly in the clutches of a Jardine Matheson senior executive, working in the Hong Kong head office.
mce63 says:
03:53 PM, 07/09/2010
What do you expect? I'm sure everyone's Rolls is at least...what...two years old by now. No one likes having to skip a year.