Rolls Royce (RYCEY, Financial), is the latest luxury carmaker who has confirmed building an “everywhere” vehicle which is being hailed to be its latest SUV offering down the lane by several auto analysts. The luxury vehicle maker which boasts of being a 111 year old company seems to be moving responding to its rivals, who are also building their ultra-luxury SUVs which will possibly hit the market in a year or two. Also, the SUV segment has become a profitable segment in the U.S. and Europe as of late and thus has enticed premium vehicle makers to venture into this segment to win more hearts in the long run. Let’s dig in further to gather an update on how Rolls-Royce looks to tap into the industry’s fastest growing segment in the next few years.
Playing the game with rivals
Rolls-Royce, the subsidiary of German automaker, BMW (BAMXY, Financial), confirmed on February 18 that it would launch an all-wheel drive vehicle – something very new for the company that has satisfied the premium customers interested in its three saloon style models.
The announcement from this luxury car maker comes almost a month after its chief rival Jaguar (TTM, Financial) announced to launch its first “crossover” SUV which it expects to be released in 2016. The other closest rival Bentley (BESR, Financial) is already on its toes to launch its premiere 4x4 luxury car in 2016. Though the management has not given an update on when the SUV would be ready for release as the thoughts seem to be at a very nascent stage, yet the high end car maker admitted that this step was being taken in response to the demand of its customers to create a “all-new, narrow bodied” Rolls-Royce.
Rolls-Royce CEO, Torsten Muller-Otvos, stated – “I am confident that this new Rolls-Royce will fully deliver on our brand’s promise of supreme luxury…”
Analysts have opined that this new vehicle which is being branded as the flagship SUV of Rolls-Royce would aid in rejuvenating the brand and in keeping it relevant to the modern market model requirements.
Though the company experts have admitted that the go-anywhere Rolls model is still in the nascent stage of development, there is some information that is publicly available as to the vehicle’s latest update- something that is pretty impressive and eye-catching.
The Phantom sedan has been doing well in the premium category and Rolls expects the SUV to be roughly of the same size as the former. Sources have shared that the high-end car would be built using an all new aluminium construction instead of the steel monocoque framework that it’s using currently for car manufacturing. The SUV is expected to be turbocharged using the company’s revered 6.75 litre V-12 powertrain under the hood.
And the best part is that the entire SUV would be hand-built as seen in other Rolls models, at the company’s workshop in Goodwood, England.
Improving the company’s financials
It is estimated that the launch of this fourth Rolls-Royce model could spur the production volume to new record levels for the company. In fact, in 2014 the luxury segment player has performed really well delivering 4,063 vehicles to its esteemed customers, a 12% year-over-year improvement worth mentioning. Also the sales have almost quadrupled since 2009 with Rolls Royce having reported the fifth consecutive year of record car sales last year.
Now, this first SUV, if launched by the company known for making the “best cars in the world” will surely find several buyers as it would serve as the sweetspot in the premium segment for Rolls fans who would prefer a Rolls to a Bentley or a Jaguar car with similar features.
Staying on the top
The luxury vehicle maker knows well that such a launch will need to be done at speed, otherwise its competitors will eat its market share in the medium premium SUV segment where sales is expected to increase 30% to nearly 1.9 million vehicles been sold by the end of the decade, as per predictions of HIS Automotive. Thinking on such lines, Rolls has brought out this piece of information lately and we will have to closely watch the company announcements to stay abreast of what’s being shared live from the company’s headquarters regarding the new SUV launch.
