By Nick Carey
LONDON (Reuters) - British luxury automaker Rolls-Royce (OTC:RYCEY) said on Wednesday it will invest 300 million pounds ($376 million) to expand its Goodwood plant to focus more on bespoke cars for high-end clients, featuring anything from gold sculptures to mother-of-pearl artwork.
As with other high-end automakers, Rolls-Royce has seen rising demand for high-margin, personalized car content from wealthy consumers.
In 2024 alone, the BMW (ETR:BMWG) unit said its "artisans crafted exquisite details" that included solid 18-carat gold sculptures, embroideries consisting of more than 869,500 stitches, wood veneers including 500 individually-shaped pieces of wood and holographic paint finishes.
Rolls-Royce said that the Goodwood plant expansion is to serve customers for its Bespoke services and Coachbuild programme - an invitation-only service where wealthy clients get to "craft an entirely original motor car."
The investment is the largest since the plant opened in 2003, when it employed 300 people and made one car a day, the company said. Today, Goodwood employs 2,500 people and produces 28 cars daily, it said.
Rolls-Royce also said that globally it sold 5,712 cars in 2024, a drop of more than 5% versus the 6,032 cars it sold in 2023, which it said was in line with its expectations as it switches over to new models.
($1 = 0.7979 pounds)