Rolls Royce is looking to tap into China's market, which boasts the luxury car brand's youngest clientele, with its bespoke business offerings.
Last year, Rolls-Royce inaugurated a customization center called Private Office in Shanghai to further strengthen its connection to its patrons and the global luxury market. And at the 2024 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition (Auto China 2024), which opened on April 25, Rolls-Royce brought the first three cars produced in the Shanghai facility to the show.
Speaking in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the sidelines of the Beijing auto show on Monday, Chris Brownridge, CEO of the British luxury automobile maker, said the creativity of Rolls-Royce's young clients in China and their significant engagement with the brand have driven the automaker to expand its bespoke business in the country.
"China and Beijing are particularly important places for Rolls-Royce. In this region, our clients are the youngest of all of our clients. They're very creative and their engagement with Rolls-Royce, particularly with our bespoke program where we create individual automobiles for our clients, their engagement is significant. So, to be back here is absolutely wonderful and I'm really enjoying my time here," he said.
"Rolls-Royce is established across the world in every region and so of course our business is spread in many different areas, and China is a very important region for us. What we can see with our clients in China is that because they're so creative and quite demanding, we see increasing demand for our bespoke business. And to this end, last year we opened a private office in Shanghai," Brownridge said.
He said the large client base comprising "ultra-high-net-worth individuals" is why Rolls-Royce chose Shanghai to set up the private office.
"We chose Shanghai because China is a region which has great potential for Rolls-Royce. But also, we have a large number of clients already and our business is centered around really having strong relationships and deep understanding of our clients, so that we can produce these bespoke motor cars for them. So, having a private office in China, it made complete sense. It was the most logical thing to do. It also helps us understand our clients better. We chose Shanghai because that is a particular area where there is a huge number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals. And since we've opened that office, we've had more than 200 client engagements, so it's clearly in the right place," Brownridge said.
China is Rolls-Royce's second largest market and a key source of revenue, making up 25 percent of its total global sales, according to data from the British company.
Auto China 2024, taking place in a venue of 220,000 square meters, will see 117 new car models making their debut, a record high.
This year's show runs till May 4.
Rolls Royce looks to tap into young China market with bespoke business offerings
