Luxury car firm Rolls-Royce will have a British boss for the first time in 14 years as long-standing chief executive Torsten Müller-Ötvos has announced he is to retire from the helm of the company at the end of next month.
He will be replaced by Chris Brownridge, the current chief executive of BMW UK, who will take over the reigns from 1 December.
The last British boss of Roll-Royce Motor Cars was Müller-Ötvos’ predecessor, Ian Purves, who left the Goodwood company in 2010.
Chris Brownridge, the current boss at BMW UK, will become Rolls-Royce’s new chief executive from 1 December
Müller-Ötvos, 63, is the brand’s longest-serving chief executive since Claude Johnson, the man who brought Charles Rolls and Henry Royce together in 1904 and spearheaded the company from 1910 until his death in 1926.
The German described leading Rolls-Royce for almost 14 years as ‘the greatest privilege and pleasure of my professional life’.
In an official statement issued by the British marque, he added: ‘To have grown the company and its world-class people to the position it is in today, at the pinnacle of the luxury industry, has been a remarkable adventure.
‘I am proud of the role my exceptional team and I have played in contributing significantly to the UK economy and to the global recognition of Britain’s ability to produce the world’s best luxury products.’
On Thursday, long-standing boss Torsten Müller-Ötvos announced his retirement on 30 November. He’s the company’s longest-serving since Claude Johnson, the man who brought Charles Rolls and Henry Royce together in 1904
During his stewardship, Müller-Ötvos has overseen the introduction of Rolls-Royce’s first SUV model, the Cullinan, pictured
Müller-Ötvos also guided the brand into its first stages of electrification with the release of the new Spectre coupe this year, with first deliveries due with customers before the end of 2023
During his stewardship, Müller-Ötvos has overseen the introduction of Rolls-Royce’s first SUV model, the Cullinan, guided the brand into its first stages of electrification with the release of the new Spectre coupe, expanded the business into new regions like the Middle East and China, and managed a dramatic increase in sales.
Annual sales of Rolls-Royce cars have risen from around 1,000 units per year in 2009 to a record of over 6,000 last term.
The company has attracted waves of new – younger – customers through its bespoke division creating unique vehicles to exacting specifications of well-heeded clients.
This has seen the average age of a Rolls-Royce buyer fall from 56 to 43 in that period – and one in five customers today is a celebrity.
Rolls-Royce also contributes over half a billion pound per annum to the UK economy and the expansion of its Goodwood facility in West Sussex has increased employment from 300 to over 2,500 staff in the region.
Müller-Ötvos’ replacement, Chris Brownridge, has been boss at the UK division of Rolls-Royce’s parent company BMW since July 2021.
Before then he was BMW UK’s sales director from January 2018 and Mini’s regional director for UK and Ireland.
He said he was ‘honoured and humbled’ by his appointment from 1 December, which will put him at the controls of the company as it ramp-up production of Spectre ahead of first deliveries to customers in the coming weeks.
‘To be invited to lead this great British brand, at such a pivotal moment in its long and remarkable story, is an extraordinary privilege,’ he said.
‘I’m fortunate to be following Torsten as chief executive. Through his vision and ambition for the brand, Rolls-Royce is today in an exceptionally strong position, and full of confidence for the future.
‘I’m absolutely delighted to be part of the Rolls-Royce story and look forward to embracing the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for us all.’
The Daily Mail’s motoring editor Ray Massey flew half way round the world to California this summer to become one of the first to drive the £330,000 electric Spectre limo
Spectre is powered by a mighty 584 horsepower (430kW) electric motor and battery configuration which propels the near 3 tonne (2,890kg) vehicle from 0 to 62mph in 4.5 seconds an up to a top speed limited to 155mph
Stretching to nearly 5.5 meters and weighing nearly three tonnes, the low-riding Spectre is electrifying and has real road presence
Oliver Zipse, BMW Group chief executive, praised Müller-Ötvos’ outstanding leadership of the ‘crown jewel of the organisation’.
He added that his ‘unswerving commitment, clear vision and exceptional ability to build a strong, focused team have helped make Rolls-Royce the world-class luxury brand it is today’.
He concluded: ‘We wish him the very best for his future endeavours.’
