Thank you, BMW.
Rolls-Royce is enjoying record sales in the last few years. In fact, the British automaker is receiving so many orders for the Cullinan, not a single one of which being for a “base” model, that it can’t keep up with production. Nothing of this would have been possible without the help of BMW – the Bavarian company which is the owner of Rolls-Royce and oversees all its operations.
In fact, RR is so dependent on BMW that even the Goodwood-based marque’s CEO, Torsten Muller-Otvos, recently admitted that Rolls would be “dead” without the help and backing of the BMW Group. Not only that, but he also told GoAuto in an interview that the automaker is extremely grateful to have engineering and financial support from Germany in times of strict emissions regulations and safety standards.
“I’m glad to be a part of the BMW Group and I would even say that Rolls-Royce would be dead without the BMW Group, we would never exist anymore,” Muller-Otvos commented. “This brand, I mean, these small little precious brands, would all die if they don’t have an OEM who invests early enough into long-term, very expensive technology, be it electric driving, be it autonomous, be it that you comply with all legal regulations worldwide.”
But, of course, a Rolls-Royce is not just a polished and rebadged BMW, not at all – and Muller-Otvos emphasized that cars from the British brand are never going to be just modified BMWs. They will always remain true to Rolls’ heritage and DNA. There’s nothing more important than how a Rolls “feels, how it looks, what you see, what you get for your money.” Well, “where customers won’t see it, and won’t touch it, we use the technology we get from the BMW Group,” he admitted.
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