The prospect of dying unexpectedly from COVID-19 can concentrate the mind wonderfully — on buying an expensive car. That’s according to Rolls-Royce chief executive Torsten Müller-Otvös, who said the luxury automaker sold more cars last year than it did during any other year in its 117-year history. Müller-Otvös told the Financial Times he believes Rolls-Royce rolled to its record because the pandemic got people to realize that “life can be short.” “Quite a lot of people witnessed people in their community dying from COVID, that makes them think life can be short, and you’d better live now than postpone it to a later date,” he said. “That also has helped [Rolls-Royce sales] quite massively.” According to the FT, the British luxury automaker sold 5,586 units last year — a 49% increase of overall sales from 2020. For car companies that cater to the mass consumer, that number would be paltry. But Rolls-Royce caters to a clientele that can shell out $455,000 for a Phantom. Müller-Otvös said other company data also supports his theory. The average age of customers dropped to 43 last year. It was as high as 53 just a few years ago. The drop in average age means that “for every 60-year-old, you need a client who is 20,” the CEO said. Müller-Otvös said sales were brisk in China, the Western Hemisphere, Europe and the Middle East. The company also performed well in South Korea and Russia, he said. Rolls-Royce also wasn’t impacted by the shortage in chips that hampered other automobile manufacturers. Other luxury carmakers also flourished during the pandemic. Bentley sold a record 14,659 cars and SUVs last year — a 31% increase from the year before. Lamborghini sold 2,472 cars in the United States last year — an 11% jump from 2020. “This year is already higher than the best year ever,” Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann said in December. Bentley and Lamborghini are both owned by Volkswagen.
