United States' Rolls-Royce Dealers on a Roll

Rolls-Royce dealers in the U.S. are doing a better job at selling the ultra-luxury British car than their counterparts elsewhere in the world, and consequently are getting a larger allotment than originally planned.

Rolls-Royce is on track to sell 500 cars in the U.S. this year, a spokesman says. The company's target was originally 400 units, but because other Rolls-Royce markets are lagging the U.S. is getting a greater supply.

The North American market was budgeted to sell 40% of the vehicles produced at a plant in Goodwood, England, but U.S. dealers are now expected to sell 60% of the plant's output this year, says the spokesman. Goodwood has a capacity of 1,000 units, but won't build that many this year, the spokesman says, because of the slack demand outside of the U.S.

Brian Miller, proprietor of Manhattan Motorcars here, says his dealership is on pace to sell about 50 Rolls-Royce cars this year. His original target was 20-30. “The big money is still out there,” Miller says.

Manhattan Motorcars specializes in selling super premium cars. It is also a Bentley dealer, but business in that brand's pricier models hasn't been good this year. Miller attributes this to slow production of these cars at the company's plant in Crewe, England.

Crewe has been focusing on assembling the new Bentley GT Coupe, “which is selling as quick as we can get them,” Miller says. Average transaction prices for the GT have been ranging between $30,000-$40,000 over MSRP, he says. “I've been buying them at $25,000 over list (price) for customers.” He says the waiting list for GTs is about 18 months.