Arguably the world’s most luxurious auto maker, Rolls Royce, opened its first showroom in Nanjing on Friday 18th January, 2013. As Rolls’ 15th showroom in China, the move illustrates both Nanjing’s increasing wealth and the company’s commitment to the country that now sells one quarter of the cars it produces.
Celebrating 110 years in business in 2013, Rolls Royce sold 3,575 cars last year, 37 more than the previous year. China lost top spot as the biggest buyer of Rollers became, once again, the USA; this despite the fact that due to import taxes the average buyer in China spends around ¥4 million on their new ride, some 30% more than their elite counterpart across the Pacific. Rolls Royce feels uncertainty in the economy in the first part of 2012 put some buyers off while others deferred purchase awaiting the release of the new Phantom models.
Like many luxury car makers, Rolls Royce produces extended wheelbase models that provide for greater legroom in the rear passenger cabin. 90 percent of Rolls Royce’s sales in China are the longer cars, reflecting the fact that owners of expensive cars can also afford a driver. Paul Harris, Asia Pacific director for Rolls-Royce, commented, “We see clients are doing meetings in the backs of their cars between cities”.
Further differences exist in the customer profile for Rolls Royce in China over that in western countries. Whereas in the latter case the average buyer is in their 50s, in China they are in their 40s or even younger, and are likely self made entrepreneurs.
The new Nanjing showroom in Xinjiekou is 457 square metres in area, allowing it to show off four Rolls Royce cars at any one time. While we will likely never know just how many cars the Nanjing branch actually sells, the company has announced a “best seller” list of its dealerships worldwide. Beijing comes top, followed by Abu Dhabi; Shanghai rounds out the top three, with Beverly Hills, California, slightly behind.
