Chief executive Torsten Müller-Ötvös said: "We made more than
3,500 cars last year but eventually we will be restricted in expansion because
the factory is in a conservation area.”
He said there were “no plans” to open another plant in the UK so
ultimately volume will be determined by the size of the plant.
“There is no chance that we will build the cars anywhere else
because it is not what our customers expect," he said.
Müller-Ötvös became head of Rolls-Royce in April 2010 and admitted
the job has been “quite a challenge” being the custodian of a brand that has
become a generic term for quality and luxury. The best of almost anything is
referred to as being "the Rolls-Royce".
Müller-Ötvös has been with parent group BMW since 1988.
He said the added expense of making a Rolls-Royce motor car,
besides meeting customers’ bespoke needs, came from the bespoke, hand-made
craftsmanship that went into the cars at Goodwood. Each car takes 450-500 hours
to make and with bespoke work this can grow to 800 hours.
Finding workers with the ability for fine craftsmanship is
becoming increasingly difficult.
He said: "When we first started at Goodwood we were lucky
that we were able to call on some very talented people who had been involved in
boat and yacht-building or furniture making but these are becoming harder to
find. Whoever we take on spends a minimum three months training before they can
touch one of our cars. We do offer apprenticeships and we currently have 40 at
the factory."
Hybrid power trains are on the agenda although Müller-Ötvös
claimed that a Rolls-Royce does have best-in segment emissions, a segment in
which he includes the likes of Bentley, Ferrari and Lamborghini.
"We have to be mindful of legal and emissions requirements
around the world, particularly in China, now our biggest market and where the
rules are getting tougher all the time.
"A plug-in hybrid would be a sensible solution but once
again, whatever we do with powertrains, there can be no compromise - the
customers simply would not accept it."∎
