ROLLS-ROYCE MOTOR CARS AT THE SHANGHAI MOTOR SHOW: REMARKS BY TORSTEN MÜLLER-ÖTVÖS

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to the House of Rolls-Royce here in Shanghai!

It is always a great pleasure to be in China, particularly here in Shanghai, one of the most vibrant and forward looking cities in the world. 

And a very special welcome to Mr Pieter Nota, Member of the Board of the BMW Group, who joins us today, for the first time, in his new capacity as the Chairman of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. 

Welcome to the Rolls-Royce family Pieter.

This is my second visit to Shanghai in a month! 

Just a few weeks ago I hosted our World Dealer Conference at the 1862 theatre in Pudong. 

It was a most successful conference at which we celebrated Rolls-Royce’s all-time record year last year. 

We were proud to deliver 4107 cars to our customers around the world...

...and we continued to be pleasingly profitable and to make a meaningful contribution to our shareholder, the BMW Group.

And, ladies and gentlemen, once again China played a significant role in our success.  

The China market is our second largest in the world and is growing at a steady rate. 

Indeed, I would not be surprised to see China become our largest market in the not too distant future. 

Let’s wait and see!

Rolls-Royce is the world’s pinnacle luxury brand and this year we are celebrating our 115th anniversary.

We take great pride in creating the beautiful and precious items that you see on our stand today, for the most demanding and discerning customers in the world. 

These works of art are lovingly handcrafted by the 2000 people who work at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood in the United Kingdom.

This celebrated facility in West Sussex is acknowledged as a global centre of luxury manufacturing excellence.

It lies at the very heart of the Rolls-Royce success story and since 2003 every Rolls-Royce in the world has been created here.

Ladies and Gentlemen, at Rolls-Royce our customers are our life-blood.

They are our heroes and our friends and we obsessively focus on providing for their needs and desires.

For them, being in the Rolls-Royce family is a very special experience, like no other.

And they are deeply appreciative of our hyper-centric attention to the smallest of details.

And, Rolls-Royce is delighted that amongst our many valued global customers are some of China’s most remarkable men and women. 

Indeed, here, in this dynamic country, more of our customers have rewarded themselves with our pinnacle product, Phantom, than anywhere else in the world.

The Rolls-Royce Phantom, described by many of you in the media and by our customers as “the Best Car in the World”, is at the core of our company’s success. 

It is a global expression of ultimate achievement and I am pleased to report that more and more of our younger customers are experiencing our Phantom short-wheelbase as a self-driver’s car.  

Speaking of younger clients, another feature of our China business is that it is currently our youngest market in the world! 

Many of our remarkable, young Chinese customers come to the Rolls-Royce Brand via our transformative Black Badge family of motor cars. 

Edgy and menacing, Black Badge appeals to these young achievers who are trendsetting, cosmopolitan citizens of the world.

2019 is the first year of delivery of our hugely successful Rolls-Royce Cullinan, our first SUV.

Cullinan was launched to great global acclaim last year and has received excellent headlines in the media and an enthusiastic welcome from our customers. 

China has quickly become our third largest market worldwide for this model.

And I am delighted to tell you that our forward orders for Cullinan stretch well into the fourth quarter of this year. 

So, I can proudly report that Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is in great shape and is set on a continuous and successful growth path.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please take a close look at and enjoy all the fine Rolls-Royces on our stand. 

Each one contains unique and beautiful examples of our world-renowned Bespoke offerings. 

No other manufacturer of luxury goods can equal customer personalisation to this level. 

Today more than ever, it is globally recognised that “Bespoke IS Rolls-Royce”.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the contemporary Rolls-Royce of today - a 115 year old brand, completely relevant in the present and moving purposefully into the future. 

As you can imagine, we are planning an exciting future for Rolls-Royce.

A future that will be fully electric, digital and technologically innovative while never neglecting our custodianship of the great Rolls-Royce brand.

This is what our customers and the world expects of us.

And, rest assured, this is what we will deliver.

But for now, thank you for listening and let me pass you over to our Regional Director of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Greater China, Leon Li.

Thank you.