Rolls-Royce Motor Cars announce £300m investment in Chichester manufacturing HQ as it reveals global sales for 2024

Chris Brownridge, Chief Executive, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said: “In 2024, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars reaffirmed its position as an authentic luxury house by crafting the most complex, personal, and valuable motor cars in its history. This momentum means it is necessary for us to invest more than £300 million in extending the Home of Rolls-Royce. This represents our most substantial financial commitment to Goodwood since its opening in 2003 and a significant vote of confidence in the Rolls-Royce marque, securing our future here in the UK. 2024’s record Bespoke results demonstrate our clients are increasingly drawn to the marque to create ever more ambitious and valuable motor cars, thereby enjoying the exceptional and highly personalised experience that Rolls-Royce ownership unlocks. This underscores our commitment to creating value for our clients and those with a stake in our business.”

According to a statement released by the company, the extension will create additional space for the increasingly complex and high-value Bespoke and Coachbuild projects sought by clients who define luxury as something deeply personal to them. It will also ready the manufacturing facility for the marque’s transition to an all-battery electric vehicle (BEV) future.

This £300+ million investment is the single largest injection of capital since the plant opened on 1 January 2003. Then, it employed around 300 people and produced just one motor car a day. Although the Goodwood manufacturing plant has undergone significant internal changes over the past 20 years, the building itself has remained largely unchanged, while staff numbers have since increased more than eightfold, and the marque now produces up to 28 motor cars a day.

In 2023, an independent study by the London School of Economics (LSE) demonstrated that Rolls-Royce contributes around half a billion pounds to the UK economy every year, as a leading representative of 'UK PLC'.

Planning permission to extend the Home of Rolls-Royce was granted in 2024. Fittingly, this milestone was achieved during the year in which Rolls-Royce celebrated the 120th anniversary of the first meeting between its co-founders, The Hon. Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry (later Sir Henry) Royce, on 4 May 1904. Site preparation and landscaping work are now underway.

5,712 motor cars delivered in 2024 – the third-highest annual sales figure on record. Global sales presented a balanced picture, led by North America and Europe.

The year also saw the introduction of a record four new models – Cullinan Series II and Ghost Series II, together with the respective Black Badge models.

According to the statement, during 2024, the Rolls-Royce Bespoke Collective of specialist designers, engineers, and craftspeople undertook some of their most creatively daring and technically challenging commissions to date. These projects incorporated innovative materials, features, and craft techniques never seen before on a Rolls-Royce motor car, resulting in unique, emotionally resonant masterpieces which truly reflect each commissioning client’s interests and personalities.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ Bespoke offering reached record levels in 2024. Bespoke content value increased 10% on average per motor car year-on-year, reaching the highest level in the company’s history.

"This record achievement is testament to Rolls-Royce’s long-term strategic focus on Bespoke, centred on creating value for clients through highly individualised products and experiences, and providing opportunities for meaningful personal expression. These commissions drew inspiration from diverse themes, ranging from spectacular natural phenomena and the marque’s heritage to cherished personal milestones and classic films. Artisans crafted exquisite details including solid 18-carat gold sculptures, intricate embroideries comprising more than 869,500 stitches, delicate marquetry composed of more than 500 individually shaped pieces of wood, captivating mother-of-pearl artworks, and holographic paint finishes, among other notable expressions of contemporary craft.

"Rolls-Royce Phantom Extended received the most comprehensive Bespoke commissions throughout the year, as clients explored this generous and detailed canvas for personal expression. In its first full year of deliveries, clients immediately saw the Bespoke potential of Spectre, with this model containing the second highest level of Bespoke content per motor car in the marque’s 2024 portfolio.

"The Middle East was the largest Bespoke region by average value per motor car, closely followed by North America and Europe.

Rolls-Royce Coachbuild, the pinnacle of Bespoke expression, unveiled Arcadia Droptail in 2024. It is one of four coachbuilt Droptail masterpieces, which followed the marque’s previous Coachbuild commissions Sweptail and Boat Tail.

"The marque’s commitment to Bespoke is reflected in its Private Offices, which take the highly personalised experience of commissioning a Rolls-Royce at Goodwood directly to clients around the world. In 2024, this global network of VIP spaces was expanded to New York and Seoul, which joined their counterparts in Dubai and Shanghai. Inspired by the original Private Office in Goodwood, these creative hubs are available by invitation, each designed to inspire creativity and close collaboration between clients and a dedicated designer and client experience manager based in the region. This unique experience is highly appreciated by clients, with Private Office commissions typically being 25% higher in value due to the opportunity to explore the full extent of Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke capabilities.

"Rolls-Royce’s dealer partners around the world also continued to invest in the marque’s updated visual identity and showroom concept, which provides a social, creatively engaging environment in which clients can relax and find inspiration for their Bespoke commission.

"The Rolls-Royce invitation-only members’ app, Whispers, continued to grow in 2024, with a 55% uplift in membership. In this exclusive digital members’ club, clients can network with each other and gain access to exclusive Rolls-Royce insights about the marque and the wider luxury world. Whispers also enables direct client contact with senior Rolls-Royce Motor Cars executives and those who own a Goodwood-era Rolls-Royce, fostering a particularly close bond between the marque and its clients.”

2024 was also the first full year of sales for Rolls-Royce Spectre, which proved even more popular than expected. “Spectre was the most requested Rolls-Royce model in Europe last year and the second most demanded globally, with clients around the world confirming it amplifies the attributes for which the marque is most renowned: silence, ‘waftability’ and the unique ‘magic-carpet ride’ experience.

"Taking all regions into consideration, the most requested Rolls-Royce models in 2024 were Cullinan, Spectre, then Ghost. Phantom, the marque’s flagship, retained its status as the ultimate and rarest Rolls-Royce. Phantom will celebrate its centenary in 2025.

"In 2024, North America was Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ largest sales region, measured by the number of motor cars handed over to clients. Several regions, including the Middle East & Africa, Europe, and Asia Pacific, achieved record sales. In China, the marque responded to sustained demand for Bespoke from its dealer partners, reflecting a continuous increase in younger clientele engaging with Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and its unique and highly personalised experience. This is most clearly evidenced at the Private Office in Shanghai, which opened in 2023, demonstrating the marque’s ongoing commitment to the region.

"In 2024, Rolls-Royce also benefited from smaller but fast-growing markets, including Malaysia, Thailand, and the Netherlands. The UAE, Germany and Japan, all large and well-established markets for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, were among a number of countries which achieved record sales in 2024. They also experienced a significant uplift in demand for Bespoke features, with some of the most ambitious Bespoke commissions originating from these markets.

"Rolls-Royce Motor Cars looks forward with confidence to 2025, when the marque will be unveiling its next electric motor car.”