New Rolls-Royce is meant to appeal to a ‘younger’ crowd…of millionaires, obviously
Rolls-Royce cars evoke a certain stereotype, perhaps best captured by this passage from a recent company press release:
“The rear passengers do not merely ‘get out’ of a Rolls-Royce Dawn, but rather stand and disembark as if from a Riva motor launch onto a glamorous private jetty in Monaco or on Lake Como.’’
If your imagination works like ours, the person you picture disembarking onto a glamorous private jetty probably isn’t the millennial next door. Is it, say, a stately old British man with perfectly coiffed white hair?
That’s exactly the image Rolls-Royce is trying to replace, or at least expand, with its new Dawn convertible, set to hit the roads in spring of 2016.
The British company recently announced the newest member of its luxury fleet, describing the four-door sedan as “an awakening, an opening up of one’s senses and a burst of sunshine.’’
The automaker is hoping language like that, plus the car’s design, will expand its appeal among younger buyers and women.
“With Dawn we currently have a convertible in the lineup,’’ Gerry Spahn, head of communications for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said. “The Dawn is a more flexible, more social car and slightly smaller. It’s a more approachable car.’’
Story continues after gallery
See inside the “Dawn:’’
[bdc-gallery id=”1429724″]
When Rolls-Royce re-launched in 2003 with their ultra-luxury Phantom, the manufacture’s most expensive and most extravagant car, the owner base was on average about 60 years old, according to Spahn.
The launch of the Ghost in 2009 and the Wraith in 2013 each brought the average customer age down, to about 45 years old overall.
The Dawn is set to bring that down even further.
But don’t worry – Rolls-Royce isn’t lowering their high-bred standards or anything.
“We are not in this perpetual chase for young people,’’ he said. “We don’t change for them. We develop the product that becomes more relevant for people that are very successful, wealthy, and picky.’’
And people will indeed still notice you’re driving a coveted Rolls-Royce.
“It still has a ton of presence,’’ Spahn added. “It’s the type you could get in it to drive and you would feel how great it is to drive a Rolls-Royce but you are not afraid to drive it.’’
Spahn said he hopes the young successful people buying the Dawn (which starts at $300,000, but usually lands closer to $400,000 with modifications) will hopefully be Rolls-Royce customers for life.
The hope applies to female customers as well.
“I think Dawn is going to be extremely successful with female drivers,’’ Spahn said. “It is a very easy car. It should be effortless. We have a lot of technology built into the car and it performs and you don’t have to worry about it. You don’t see it or hear it – it’s just there.’’
Interested?
Well, all the 2015 models, which are set to be delivered in April 2016, have already been sold. But there are plenty of 2016 models that will be delivered later in the year still up for grabs.
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