March 16, 2012, 10:08 Cars

"Our clients are too famous"

Interview with Rolls Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös

Glavois with the English company Rolls Royce Thorsten Müller-Ötvös

Reuters The head of the English company Rolls Royce, Thorsten Müller-Ötvös, in an interview with Gazeta.Ru, spoke about the company’s clients - eccentric millionaires who match their car to the color of their suit.

— Rolls Royce is in a unique situation. Sales are growing as if it were not a super-luxury brand, but a regular premium one, largely due to the growth of developing countries. The buyer there is often specific. So, to satisfy the tastes of such buyers, Bentley has prepared a crossover. Lamborghini wants to do the same thing - isn't it because millionaires in rich countries want to show off their money?..

- You are wrong! Our clients want to show their success - that's completely different. Imagine, a person has a fantastic career, a successful large company, he feels comfortable, he has income. And Rolls Royce for him is an opportunity to show his position and his success. Because Rolls Royce is a symbol of success.

— Each of your cars is ordered individually. In Russia, we often see insanely expensive and equally tasteless things that rich clients choose for themselves. Who decides what is worthy of Rolls Royce and what is completely inconsistent with the brand's style?

— I don’t agree that many rich people (no matter in Russia, China or somewhere else) have bad taste. It's just a completely different sense of taste than people of average income. Our clients are very eccentric and extraordinary. And often they know exactly what they want. I've seen the wonderful things our customers have ordered. But taste is taste. This is a very individual feeling.

It all depends on what the client requests. When it comes to choosing the color for the car, the color of the leather for the interior, we don't just follow what the customer orders. We consult with our designers, and they come up with several solutions in the ordered color scheme to be sure that the result will be a beautiful car.

But we talk with every client and try to help him make the right choice or understand his request. For example, a client will ask you to make him a pink car with a yellow interior. I personally don’t like this color combination, but I may not know the reasons and motives for this choice. But our designers, of course, will never tell the client that his wishes are tasteless.

Last year we had a client with an interesting story. He is a very respectable man, about 50 years old. When he was five or six years old, his grandfather gave him a toy car with pedals. And he loved her very much. And he wanted us to paint his Rolls Royce in exactly the same colors. Because emotionally this is very important for him: this is how he decided to embody his romantic memories. And, of course, we made him this car, and it’s not a matter of taste.

— Is there any limit? Let's say a client comes to you and asks you to build a crossover for him. And he will be ready to pay the price you set. Will you do it?

— Theoretically, we could build a crossover for our client. But whether we would do this or not, I don’t know. I make the final decision on exclusive solutions for design changes, technological and mechanical changes. If someone comes and asks to put Audi airbags on a Rolls Royce because they like them better, I will say: “No, we won’t do that.”

— Have you discussed the possibility of creating crossovers in general?

- I don't think this is our way. We make the best limousines in the world. We do it great. And we have no reason to change this state of affairs. We do not strive to be a mass producer. On the contrary, it would harm us. And the popular decision to build crossovers is that same compromise aimed at expanding the audience. We have Ghost and we have Phantom. That's enough for now.

— At the Geneva Motor Show you presented a car with an electric motor. What is the reason for this decision?

— We wanted to understand how interesting this market is to our customers. But in our case, it makes no sense to conduct marketing research and surveys to find out. In our case, these methods do not work. You need to understand what is acceptable to clients and what is not. They had to feel what we were talking about and what we were offering them. And we just built an electric Rolls Royce and invited our customers around the world - about 500 people - to drive this car and decide whether they like it or not.

The results were interesting: opinions were divided in half. Some people liked that the cabin was quiet. I liked the power and the environmental friendliness. But the distance the car can travel is too short, and the charging time of 6-8 hours is too long. And this is unacceptable. Especially for Russian clients. I think we will freeze this project until more advanced batteries are created. Or we’ll make a compromise car with a hybrid installation.

— Why do rich wealthy people need a car with alternative fuel? Is it fashionable, prestigious, respectable?

— Good question, I also asked our clients. This is not an image issue. Our clients are very self-sufficient people. They don't need anyone's approval at all. And indeed, for them this is also a question: you make the best engines in the world - why should I choose something different and abandon them? And I'll tell you this: not a single client has ever asked me to build him a hybrid car or a car with an electric motor...

— Car companies are fighting for something new every day to offer their customers design, comfort, and safety. What is the future of Rolls Royce? What direction are you moving in?

— Our technologies are all of the latest generation. And we are in an advantageous position thanks to the BMW donation. I can choose for my cars those options that they have already thought up and created.

When it comes to design, our clients are conservative. And we are conservative too.

— Do you know all your clients by name?

— Personally, I don’t, but the company, of course, keeps their names. And there are customers who buy several cars in different colors. They usually have huge garages of great cars. And in the morning they choose a car that matches the color of their suit and watch.

— The issue of security is probably very important for your clients. Armored vehicles of premium brands are in great demand in Russia. What security programs do you offer?

- I'll surprise you now. Several years ago we actually developed a program to reserve our vehicles, but we did not have a single order for an armored vehicle. No one. And we had to close it. It sounds crazy, but it's true.

- How is this possible?

“Our clients are too famous, too influential for anyone to risk attacking them.”

— Economists fear a new crisis. How did you feel during the last financial crisis and are you afraid of the new one?

— Our customers do not go bankrupt during crises. These are people who are able to resist in any situation. They are stable. But buying a Rolls Royce, as we said, is a sign of success. And when the economy is unstable, when business is unstable, people don't want to buy. This is not a question of money, but of feelings.