Economic Slowdown Favours the Rich

Jan 13 2012

In an era where ordinary consumers have to hunt for cheap car loans and scale down when buying a car there is one segment of society that prospers: the super-rich.  The number of Rolls-Royces sold worldwide reached a new record in 2011 – another indication that the super-rich actually benefited from the economic recession.

In case you thought most of these guys and gals were in the UK or the USA – they are not: they are in China.

For the first time in its 107-year history Rolls Royce sold more cars in China than in the United States last year.  Sales in China rose 67% to reach 1,000 for the first time.

The USA was the second biggest buyer of the global emblem wealth with sales increasing by 17% to 990 last year.

In third place was the United Kingdom, where sales rose by 30% in 2011 to a new record level of 350 for the year.  This contrasts sharply with the drop of 4.4% in overall car sales we saw in Britain last year.

A spokesperson for Rolls Royce in the UK said “Brits love their Rolls-Royces.  It is extraordinary, it's an amazing figure, but it's a fact.”

Globally Rolls Royce sold 3,538 cars in 2011 – an increase of 31% over the 2010 total and the highest figure since 1978, when 3,347 Rolls-Royces were sold.

This is, of course, good for the British car manufacturing industry – all the cars are manufactured at their Goodwood plant in West Sussex.

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