In the 107-year history of Rolls-Royce, the legendary marque has never sold more automobiles than it did in 2011. The premium-luxury automaker delivered 3,538 cars to customers last year, which represents an increase of 31 percent over 2010, when it sold 2,711 cars.

The company’s previous record for single-year sales was 3,347 units, set back in 1978.

To no one’s surprise, the strongest growth came from the Asia Pacific region, where sales were up by 47 percent. China was the largest market for Rolls-Royce in 2011, followed by the United States.

Sales in North America were up some 17 percent from 2010, while sales in the Middle East increased by 23 percent. In Europe, both Germany and Russia delivered twice as many sales as in 2010.

Rolls-Royce attributes the bulk of this growth to its new Ghost and Ghost Extended Wheelbase models, which represent the gateway to the Rolls-Royce brand. Priced from $246,500 in the United States, we have a hard time using the label “entry level” in relation to a car costing nearly a quarter-million dollars.

The automaker also credits its Rolls-Royce Bespoke personalization program for growing sales in 2011, and claims that nearly every Phantom model produced in 2011 contained some degree of bespoke personalization.

To meet growing worldwide demand for its products, Rolls-Royce will expand its production facility at Goodwood, England, which currently employs over 1,000 workers. Groundbreaking on this expansion is scheduled to begin in February, 2012.