In 119 years, Rolls-Royce has never sold more cars

Rolls-Royce celebrates its 120th birthday this year - what better way to start than with a record-breaking 2023?

By Matt Bird / Monday, 8 January 2024 / Loading comments

Though there’s probably no such thing as a small year for brands like Rolls-Royce, 2024 stands to be one of the more significant: not only does it mark 120 years since the first meeting of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce, it will also see its first production EV - the Spectre - enjoy its first full year of production. Rolls-Royce goes into ‘24 in rude health, moreover, with a record year announced for 2023: 6,032 cars were delivered.

You might think that would be the first time the 6,000 threshold had been surpassed, but that figure is actually a very tiny increase on 2022, where 6,021 sales were recorded. Still, a record is a record, and never before has Rolls-Royce sold as many cars as in 2023.

Predictably enough, the Cullinan was the biggest seller again, followed by the Ghost and the Phantom. Last year saw the final Wraiths and Dawns roll out of Goodwood, and the first Spectres reached customers as well. It’ll be interesting to see how the 2024 figures reflect the switch from V12 to EV for the two-door. Every single Rolls-Royce now features something from the Bespoke department, be it a paint finish - with some requiring ‘entirely new materials, techniques and formulations to achieve’ - or an upholstery option.

Today’s news was accompanied by the confirmation that Bespoke commissions reached ‘new record levels by both number and value’; additionally, the Middle East was crowned as the region requesting ‘the most creatively ambitious and technically challenging’ bespoke features.

Speaking of which, the Middle East enjoyed a record year for Rolls-Royce sales, as did Europe and Asia-Pacific (the latter aided by a strong performance in Korea). The most cars went to the USA, with China in second; the UK is the biggest Rolls-Royce market in Europe.

2024 will see a renewed focus on Bespoke and Coachbuild commissions (think Droptail for the latter) with new Private Offices set for Seoul and the US to give direct access to the designers and engineers. Plus, of course, an ever-increasing focus on electric Rolls-Royces. New Chief Executive Officer Chris Brownridge added: “As incoming CEO, I’m in the extremely fortunate position of taking over responsibility for a business in robust good health, with strong foundations and a clear strategy for growth and development, formidable technical capabilities and a focused, dedicated team. I’m looking forward to working with the entire Rolls-Royce team to maintain this momentum and take this great company forward with confidence and conviction.”