Rolls-Royce to launch its first SUV

LONDON - German-owned luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce on Wednesday unveiled plans to launch its own sports utility vehicle, mirroring recent moves by fellow upmarket rivals Bentley and Jaguar.

The British brand, which is owned by Germany's BMW, revealed in an open letter from Rolls-Royce chairman Peter Schwarzenbauer and chief executive Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes that it was in the process of developing its first-ever 4x4 car.

"Today we confirm that we are developing an all-new Rolls-Royce with exceptional presence, elegance and purpose ... A car that offers the luxury of a Rolls-Royce in a vehicle that can cross any terrain," the letter read.

The automaker added that the new model would be "a high-bodied car, with an all-new aluminium architecture", but gave no indication of price or when production would begin.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Rolls-Royce to bring 'Serenity' to Geneva

MANILA, Philippines - Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is bringing "Serenity" to Switzerland.

The one-off Phantom Serenity car will be showcased at this year's Geneva International Motor Show.

"Celebrating the historical role played by silk as a symbol of regal and imperial power, the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Bespoke Design team has created a magnificent one-off motor car which will set a new benchmark for luxury individualisation in the motor industry," the company said.

Serenity will feature luxurious textiles in the Phantom's interior, and demonstrate the high craftsmanship and attention to detail that Rolls-Royce is known for.

Rolls-Royce's Bespoke Design team took inspiration from the opulent interiors of Rolls-Royces that have carried kings, queens and world leaders, as well as European furniture and Japanese royal kimono designs.

The Phantom Serenity will be unveiled at the Geneva International Motor Show on March 3.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

This tycoon bought most expensive Rolls-Royce Phantom ever

MANILA, Philippines - A tycoon has purchased not one, but two of the most expensive Rolls-Royce Phantoms ever commissioned.

The two Phantoms were part of Hong Kong entrepreneur Stephen Hung's order for 30 Bespoke Extended Wheel Base Phantoms for his Louis XIII hotel in Macau. This was the single largest order of Rolls-Royce ever.

The price of the 30 Rolls-Royce Phantoms was not disclosed, although The Financial Times valued the deal at $20 million.

The Phantom fleet will chauffeur the guests of Louis XIII hotel, located on the Cotai Strip, when it opens in the first half of 2016.

Hung, who is chairman of Louis XIII, signed the deal with Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes at a ceremony at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood in West Sussex, England.

"Macau is rapidly evolving into the luxury capital of the world and we are honored to have the opportunity to add to Macau’s many distinctions, the world’s largest fleet of Rolls-Royce Phantoms, including the two most luxurious vehicles Rolls-Royce has ever built. Louis XIII and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars share the same philosophy: to deliver the perfect experience to the world’s most discerning customers," Hung said.

Each of the 30 Rolls-Royce vehicles has been extensively customized by Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke design team.

The two most expensive Phantoms will feature external and internal gold-plated accents.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has also helped to design the parking and driveways at Louis XIII hotel. They will also train the hotel's chauffeurs in how to drive and handle the vehicles.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Why Rolls-Royce is so bullish about PH market

MANILA, Philippines - Don't be surprised if you soon see some of the Philippines' top tycoons driving around in a Rolls-Royce Ghost or Wraith in the streets of Manila.

Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, the chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said he met some of the country's tycoons during a Rolls-Royce customer dinner on Wednesday evening.

"I met in a customer dinner, 15 captains of industry here in Manila and I must say I was impressed listening to them, the expectations regarding the country here,"he said in a roundtable interview in Makati City on Thursday morning.

While he declined to talk about their customers here, Mueller-Oetvoes said, "I can tell you rest assured that somebody who attends a Rolls-Royce dinner is at least highly interested."

This keen interest in Rolls-Royce's luxury vehicles is why Mueller-Oetvoes said it was an "excellent" decision to enter the Philippine market.

The Rolls-Royce chief, who was in town for the inauguration of an interim Rolls-Royce showroom in Bonifacio Global City,  is extremely confident sales in the Philippines will be sustainable in the long-term.

"For us, it is definitely an important market otherwise, we wouldn't have entered this market. I have clearly projections that business should grow here in the years to come and that the Philippines plays a substantial part in our Asian strategy," he said.

He said the Philippine economy's  "extraordinary" growth was one of the reasons why they finally decided to enter the market.





"There are very few countries in the world which can claim 7.5% growth rates. It's extraordinary... For that reason that was clearly one indicator from our side, the economic growth. I must also say, I was blown away to see so many construction going on, in particular in Manila," he said.

"When you look at projections... the Philippines would see rising amount of ultra-high net worth individuals in the next few years. So for that reason, I am not worried. The potential is around. And it's good to see that potential. They are the captains of industry, they are for me, often the main pillars of economic growth in a country," he added.

The high-end car maker, a unit of BMW AG, is also bullish about Asia. In terms of worldwide allocation of its volume, the United States is still Rolls-Royce's biggest market (around 30%), followed closely by China, Middle East and the rest of Asia.

"Asia in total is over 50% of our volume worldwide... Yes, When you go back to projections of ultra-high net worth individuals, there is also a shift that wealth would shift from the Western part of the world to the Eastern part of the world," he said.

On Wednesday, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Manila opened its showroom in Bonifacio Global City. It is only an interim facility until a new showroom is opened next year.

"Rest assured that a dealer who invests a couple of million in a new showroom for the business here, is highly confident this segment will develop nicely here over the next years to come... If our business would not be sustainable, we would never enter a market," Mueller-Oetvoes said.

Rolls-Royce does not reveal sales figures, but expects most of its sales volume to come from its Ghost model and the new Wraith model, which will be launched here in November.

"I'm also convinced the recently launched model by Wraith will be a very successful car in the Philippines. Because this car, the Wraith, is clearly meant for self-driving gentlemen. Also, the customer group I met yesterday, already had big expectations, and were also quite keen on Wraith and Ghost," Mueller-Oetvoes said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Rolls-Royce opens largest Asian facility

SINGAPORE -- Aircraft engine giant Rolls-Royce opened its largest Asian facility in Singapore on Monday as it looks to capitalise on the region's booming aviation sector.

The Rolls-Royce Seletar Campus will be the only facility outside of the firm's Derby plant in Britain to assemble, test and produce Trent 900 and Trent 1000 engines, the firm said.

The Trent 900 engine is widely used in the Airbus A380 superjumbo, while the Trent 1000 series can power Boeing's latest Dreamliner series.

"This part of the world has played a key role at enabling us to double the size of our business in the last decade," Simon Robertson, chairman of Rolls-Royce, said at the plant's opening on the eve of the Singapore Airshow.

"And it is the continued demand from the fast-growing economies in Asia which underpins our confidence that we expect to double our revenues again in the next decade."

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong underscored the importance of the 154,000 square metre (1.66 million square foot) facility to the city-state, a regional aviation hub.

"It's a landmark project for Rolls-Royce and Singapore. Rolls-Royce calls this its facility of the future, and we treat it so. It's the single largest aerospace investment ever in Singapore worth Sg$700 million ($559 million)," he said at the opening.

"It enables Singapore to play a key role in supplying aircraft engines for the latest jets such as the A380 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner."

The campus includes an assembly and test unit, fan blade manufacturing, research and development as well as a regional training centre.

It will be able to produce up to 250 engines per year at full capacity -- double the company's worldwide production -- with the first locally assembled engine to be shipped to Toulouse, France in the third quarter.

Rolls-Royce declined to name the customer, but Airbus is based in the French city.

The British firm's "value-add contributions" in Singapore would reach about Sg$1.7 billion in three years, or about 0.5 percent of the city's projected gross domestic product, said Jonathan Asherson, Rolls-Royce's regional director of Southeast Asia.

The Singapore facility would allow Rolls-Royce to capitalise on the region's growth, said Mike Terrett, the firm's chief operating officer.

"The Asia-Middle East market together has been our strongest growth area largely because there's been such a high demand for (wide-body aircraft)," he said.

Globally, airlines will need 33,500 new planes valued at $4.0 trillion by 2030, with Asia accounting for about 35 percent of the total, US aircraft maker Boeing said Monday.

source: interaksyon.com