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Bespoke Personalization Key To Rolls-Royce Sales Growth

Kurt Ernst

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Kurt has been fascinated by anything with wheels and a motor for a long time. Growing up, he spent his spare time turning wrenches and pumping gas in... More

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857 views Jan 24, 2012

Rolls-Royce Ghost Bespoke Design

HI-RES GALLERY: Rolls-Royce Ghost Bespoke Design

Last year, Rolls-Royce enjoyed record sales, with big gains coming in both the Asia-Pacific region and in North America.

One reason for the legendary brand’s success is the degree of personalization available throughout its model range.

High-end luxury cars are like houses; above a certain price point, you expect to be able to select more than just color and option packages. Even Rolls-Royce’s gateway model, the Ghost, has a starting price point in excess of $250,000, which means that buyers have expectations of more than just comfort.

In fact, some 56 percent of Ghost models sold last year contained some element of bespoke personalization, ranging from custom paint through picnic sets and cigar humidors.

On the upscale Phantom range, the percentage of bespoke sales is even higher, varying from 99 percent in Middle Eastern markets to a low of 79 percent in Asian Pacific markets. In North America, bespoke Phantom sales rose from 30 percent of orders in 2005 to 84 percent of orders last year.

Rolls-Royce isn’t the only manufacturer following this particular recipe for success, either. As Ferrari’s client base has evolved, so have its cars, which are now expected to deliver equal parts performance and luxury. To that end, Ferrari launched its own bespoke program, called “Tailor-Made,” at last year’s Frankfurt Auto Show.

Even McLaren is offering bespoke versions of its MP4-12C through its “Special Operations” group, announced at last year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Given that the car has a two-year waiting list for standard production models, we’re not sure that offering bespoke variants will do much to boost McLaren’s sales.