Luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC yesterday said it recorded a 25 percent jump in sales last year, underpinned by solid demand for its first-ever SUV, Cullinan, just a year after the launch.
The 116-year-old British company said it sold a record 5,152 cars, compared with 4,107 units in the prior year.
“Worldwide demand last year for our Cullinan SUV has driven this success and is expected to stabilize in 2020,” chief executive officer Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes said in a statement.
The Cullinan was unveiled in 2018.
The BMW-owned brand’s strong numbers serve as a breather at a time when the global automobile industry is still grappling with various challenges amid a broader economic slowdown that dented sales of automakers such as Volkswagen AG and Ford Motor Co.
North America continued to be the biggest contributor with about a third of Rolls-Royce’s total sales, followed by China and Europe.
BENTLEY
British luxury carmaker Bentley returned to profitability, helped by a 5 percent sales increase after a strong performance in Europe and the Americas, the Volkswagen-owned brand said yesterday.
Sales reached 11,006 vehicles, boosted by the new Continental GT Convertible model and a series of derivatives and limited edition models.
“This result secures Bentley’s return to profitability, demonstrates the successful implementation of our turnaround, and sends a clear signal for the potential of Bentley for 2020,” chief executive officer Adrian Hallmark said.
The firm did not disclose its profit figure for the year, but in the first nine months last year, operating profit stood at 65 million euros (US$73 million), according to previously released figures from Volkswagen.
Sales in China fell by just over 12 percent to 1,940 models, which Bentley said was due to the lack of availability of cars as the Continental GT only arrived last month.
ASTON MARTIN
Meanwhile, Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd said that its annual core profit would plummet more than 45 percent from 2018, as weak demand in Europe led to a drop in wholesale volumes.
The 106-year-old firm, famed for being fictional agent James Bond’s brand of choice, in November had highlighted tough trading conditions, particularly in the UK and Europe, and weak demand for its Vantage model.
The company said these conditions had continued through its peak delivery period last month and led to a 7 percent drop in wholesale volumes for the year.
It expects adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of between £30 million and £140 million (US$39.6 million and US$184.66 million), compared with £247.3 million a year earlier.
“From a trading perspective, 2019 has been a very disappointing year,” chief executive officer Andy Palmer said, as the company now expects adjusted EBITDA margin of 12.5 percent to 13.5 percent, down from 22.6 percent in 2018.
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