Buoyed by an increase in the number of super-rich willing to splash out on luxury cars, Rolls-Royce has announced it is to take on 'several hundred' new workers and create a new assembly line at its factory in Goodwood, near Chichester.
The BMW owned firm has seen a 22 per cent increase in sales so far this year, largely because of favourable economic conditions and aggressive expansion into new and emerging markets such as China and the Middle East.
And the firm is on course to smash last year's sales figures and has already planned extra shifts and overtime to clear its backlog of orders.
The firm also recently announced plans for a new coupe vehicle and a smaller version of the Phantom, bringing its total range to four cars.
The range has now been expanded with a long wheelbase Phantom model, the Drophead coupe version, the experimental 101EX car announced earlier this month and now the smaller car which should enter production around 2010.
The firm currently has a workforce of around 600 staff.
Rolls-Royce cars cost between £250,000 and £1 million. Most parts of the cars are hand-crafted at Goodwood and can be tailored to meet specific requirements.
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