Rolls Royce upbeat on Phl market

MANILA, Philippines - Rolls Royce Motor Cars is upbeat that the Philippine market will contribute in the growth of the firm’s business in Asia Pacific amid expectations of continued positive economic performance and increase in ultra high net worth individuals here.

“For us, the Philippines is an important market. There are projections that our business here will grow and will figure in our Asia-Pacific business,” Rolls Royce Motor Cars chief executive officer Torsten Muller-Otvos said in a roundtable discussion yesterday.

Rolls Royce is confident that its business in the Philippines will grow as the country’s economy is seen to continue to post strong growth, which would lead to an increase in the number of ultra high net worth individuals.

“If you look at projections done by many neutral offices, they are all similar that the Philippines should also see rising amount in ultra high net worth individuals over the next years,” he said.

These ultra high net worth individuals are Rolls Royce’s potential customers.

Muller-Otvos said the firm is targeting the country’s captains of industries, pillars of economic growth or what could be considered the drivers of economic wealth for its ultimate luxury cars.

“It is good to see that potential because as I already said, they are captains of growth, captains of industries. They are for me the pillars of economic growth. They put people in employment. They are the drivers of wealth for the country,” he said.

Rolls Royce, which appointed businessman Willy Tee Ten’s British Bespoke Automobiles Inc. as its authorized importer and dealer in Manila earlier this year, opened its interim facility in Bonifacio Global City on Wednesday.

The temporary facility, which would take orders for Rolls Royce cars such as the Phantom, Ghost and Wraith, is expected to provide customers the Rolls Royce experience while the new showroom is being constructed.

Muller-Otvos said the new facility would open in the last quarter of next year.

Rolls Royce decided to establish its presence in the Philippine market given its impressive economic growth story and development of ultra high net worth individuals.

“That a dealer invested here, rest assured that the market will continue to grow here in the coming years,” he said.

“If our business would not be sustainable, we would never enter the market,” he added.