UAE leads world in Rolls-Royce sales

Abu Dhabi has become the world’s biggest market for Rolls-Royce cars, edging out Dubai and Beijing in sales last year.

Rolls-Royce’s Abu Dhabi and Dubai dealerships achieved the highest sales and second-highest sales respectively, said Frank Tiemann, Rolls-Royce’s communications manager for Europe and the Middle East.

This was ahead of Beijing and London, which tied for third place, and Beverly Hills in the US in fifth place.

“This is a very impressive development for Abu Dhabi,” Mr Tiemann said yesterday. “It has been top five for the past three years.”

Overall sales in the Middle East rose 48 per cent last year, up from 40 per cent in 2007, he said.

The most popular Rolls-Royce model for Emirates buyers last year was the Phantom, a four-door limousine whose base price was about US$400,000 (Dh1.46 million) before taxes and without any customised features, said Mr Tiemann.

Worldwide, Abu Dhabi and Dubai had the highest levels of requests for customisation, which can range from a personalised colour to specially positioned knobs and buttons, he said.
“In the UAE, every single car was a bespoke Phantom, which can easily double the cost,” he said.