New, ultra-expensive models are doing just fine despite war and the world’s economic woes, Automotive News Europe (ANE) said, adding that expensive super-luxury cars are still in big demand despite the war in Iraq, fear of terrorist attacks and the widespread economic downturn. The new cars from Rolls-Royce, Maybach and Bentley are already sold out beyond this year.
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Buyers are being forced to wait up to a year for delivery of a new Rolls-Royce Phantom, which costs 371,200 euros in Germany.
“The first year’s production is already sold out,” said Rolls-Royce spokesman Friedrich Fruth. “We have hundreds of firm orders.”
Only three Phantoms a day are currently being built at the new Rolls-Royce plant in Goodwood, England. Fruth acknowledged that this is “a slightly slower pace” than was originally expected. Roll-Royce expects to build 700 to 800 Phantoms this year. There have been problems at some suppliers and quality is a top priority, said Fruth.
In Germany, Rüdiger Czakert, manager of Auto-König in Munich, has already sold 10 Phantoms. Bremen-based dealer Tamsen has also sold “a double-digit amount.”
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By GlobalData
“There’s no crisis as far as we’re concerned,” said a Tamsen spokesman.
Both German dealers are sharing just one single demonstration car and are expecting to make their first customer deliveries in June.
The new Phantom is also in demand in Switzerland, which needs to sell just two more units to meet its allocation for the year.
It’s a similar story for the Maybach.
“The interest in this car has been overwhelming,” Leon Hustinx, Maybach marketing chief, told ANE sister publication Automobilwoche.
There are waiting lists of a year for both the Maybach 57, which costs 359,600 euros, and the long-wheelbase Maybach 62, which costs 417,600.
For models with high levels of buyer customisation, the waiting list is even longer.
Hustinx said reaction to the Maybach in the USA has been “highly positive.”
The Maybach 57 is launched in the USA in June, and the 62 follows in September. The 62 is expected to account for 40% of US sales, said Hustinx.
DaimlerChrysler believes the Maybach will be successful in Russia where a Maybach centre will open in Moscow in July.
There is also good news from the Middle East, where DaimlerChrysler expects to sell 160 Maybachs this year, 25 in Abu Dhabi alone. In May, the first 10 Maybachs valued at 4 million euros were flown out by jumbo jet.
“The cars were extremely well received,” said Maybach sales director Steffen Baumann.
At Bentley, there are 3,200 advance orders for the new Continental GT. The car goes on sale in the autumn priced at 159,000 euros.
For the Continental GT, “we originally aimed to get advance orders equivalent to a year’s worth of production,” said product manager Mark Tennant. “In fact, we have already reached up to 18 months in some markets.”
