Rolls-Royce is recruiting 200 new apprentices for its Goodwood site

The successful applicants will undergo extensive training before hand-building the company’s model family members, including the Phantom, Ghost, Wraith, Dawn and the new behemoth SUV, the Cullinan

Apprentice Georgia Dickinson learns the craft of leather working (Pictures by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars)

Maybe not so much good news emanating from the British car industry right now… but Rolls-Royce is at least still recruiting and investing in what has, at least historically, been the best motor car in the world.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, part of BMW Group, has announced that it is recruiting for 200 new positions, all based at the company’s head office and manufacturing plant in Goodwood, West Sussex. The new roles will bring the total workforce to over 2,000 for the first time, a six-fold increase on the original total when the company first opened, at Goodwood, in 2003. BMW had acquired the rights to use the famous name some years previously and had moved production from the Crewe factory.

Callum Rafferty, with some fine Rolls-Royce veneers... (Rolls-Royce Motor Cars)

The new roles are available across all skilled production areas, including wood, leather, assembly, test & finish, paint and logistics. The successful applicants will undergo extensive training before hand-building the company’s model family members, including the Phantom, Ghost, Wraith, Dawn and the new behemoth SUV, the Cullinan. Rolls-Royce’s attention to detail and craftsmanship remain world-renowned.

...which end up making the perfect finish on the dashboard (Rolls-Royce Motor Cars)

CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös commented: “I am delighted to announce our new recruitment programme. This reflects not only the success of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars to date, but also our confidence in the future of our business. Rolls-Royce continues to strive for long-term sustainable growth and we remain fully committed to luxury manufacturing at our home here in Great Britain.”

The BMW subsidiary is less exposed than most to the European market, sending much of its output to the US, China, the Middle East and other lucrative markets. Rolls-Royce might also weather the disruption to supply lines, post-Brexit, from suppliers in Germany and the rest of the EU better than the volume brands, too, given the luxury product’s pricing power. The Cullinan, for example, starts at around £250,000, before any bespoke accessories are added.

Torsten Müller-Ötvös with the hefty Cullinan, unveiled in May (Rolls-Royce Motor Cars)

Rolls-Royce recently announced strong half-year sales, up 13 per cent compared to the same period in 2017, with demand for all Rolls-Royce models remaining strong in most regions around the world. In addition to “excellent” sales of the new Phantom, demand for special editions of the Dawn, Ghost and Wraith continued to surpass expectations.

The new Rolls-Royce Cullinan was unveiled in May to great acclaim and already has a reportedly strong order book stretching well into next year. First customer deliveries of the new all-terrain model are due in the first quarter of 2019.