Rolls Royce revs up for first 100

Rolls Royce, the British luxury car maker, is strengthening operations in India as it sees the country as one of its key markets in the Asia Pacific region.

To start with, the automaker has appointed Hrfried Hasenoehrl as head of business development for India. Hasenoehrl will work with the dealer network to expand operations in the country. He will also identify newer cities having potential for the Rolls Royce brand.

The company, which has two dealers in Mumbai and Delhi, is planning to add a few more by the end of this year or the early next calendar year.

“Currently, we are in the process of identifying the dealers. We are looking for dealers who have high local connections,” said Dan Balmer, marketing and events manager, Asia Pacific at Rolls Royce.

Without clarifying on the exact locations, Balmer said some of the cities with high potential for the dealer network expansion could be Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore.

Also, expanding its product portfolio, the company has introduced the Ghost extended wheelbase model in India at Rs3.05 crore. Currently, Rolls Royce sells Ghost and Phantom models in India.

The company sold around 70 cars in 2010.

“With new dealers and new product, the potential market for Rolls Royce is around 100 units this year,” said Hal Serudin, corporate communication manager, Asia Pacific for Rolls Royce.

The company’s current capacity is 3,000 units. It is currently increasing its capacity size by 2500 square metres at its Goodwood plant in southern England.

It is also investing 10 million pounds on its Bespoke segment that makes personalised cars. It is also increasing the headcount of this segment 50% to meet the growing demand.

“Out of 10 cars sold in India, about 60-70% have some Bespoke element,” Serudin said.

According to Serudin, company’s expansion plans are mainly driven by the robust demand from Asia Pacific countries including China, India, Korea and Singapore. “Asia Pacific is the fastest region for Rolls Royce,” he said. 

The company sold 2,711 units in 2010 globally.

Till now in this fiscal, Rolls Royce sold 1,592 units, in which its Asia Pacific sales grew 150%, while markets like US and Middle East grew 40%.