It's not an easy time to sell cars. Tariffs, recession chatter, political uncertainty -- these factors are upending the sales environment for mainstream and luxury automakers alike.
Jon Colbeth, the newly appointed president of Rolls-Royce North America, recognizes these hurdles. He's making a point to reach out to the brand's new and longtime customers to make them feel like family. Every day he checks the company's Whispers app, where owners can connect with each other and yes, message Colbeth at all hours of the day. The app, which launched right before the pandemic, is a "digital extension to the Rolls-Royce marque," according to Rolls executives.
"There's probably not many brands where you can pick up your phone and in an instant message the CEO of the company," Colbeth told ABC News. "I respond to all the requests -- I try to get back very quickly. [Clients] like that personal access."
Rolls-Royce is in the process of expanding its footprint in Goodwood, England, the location of the brand's global headquarters and factory. The company sold 5,712 vehicles last year, its third-best annual sales result. Colbeth explained that the company is quite content with smaller sales than other top automakers, such as Ferrari and Lamborghini.
"Our customers like the fact that we're not going to start chasing volume," he said.
Colbeth opened up about his goals for the brand, especially in the U.S., "maintaining the pinnacle of luxury" and why knobs and buttons are more important than ever.
The interview below has been edited.
Q: What are you hearing from customers? What do they want from the brand right now?
A: We've seen a big push toward individuality and bespoke over the last few years, especially with the launch of our Private Office. Clients want their own unique commission.
Q: The seems to be an emerging trend of showcasing a brand's logo on a vehicle, such as the hood, which Mercedes-Maybach has done with its SL convertible. Is this something Rolls would consider?
A: No. Whether it's our vehicles or it's our accessories, it's more understated. If you look at any of the products we're coming out with, you're not going to see the Rolls-Royce logo plastered over everything.
Q: Your predecessor put a lot of effort into attracting a younger clientele and it worked for the brand. What's your focus?
A: That will continue. We're looking at different experiences with [clients]. We're always bringing new clients into the brand. When they join Rolls-Royce, they're joining our family and everything that comes along with it.
We need to grow the future of Rolls-Royce. We've been around for 120 years ... and we're going to be around for a long time. We're stewards of the brands. Our responsibility is to cherish it.
Q: How important are celebrities for branding and marketing?
A: We're not a celebrity-based business. We're not going out there and paying a celebrity a significant amount of money to drive a Rolls-Royce. The brand speaks for itself. People are not buying our cars because a celebrity is driving it.
We don't want to be the car for everybody. It's not what we're about. We're investing $370 million in our [U.K.] plant extension without making more vehicles. What brand does that? Our focus is adding bespoke capacity and allowing each commission to be more special for clients.
Q: What's demand been like for the all-electric Spectre? Are customers still trading in their Teslas for a Spectre?
A: It's reaching more of a stabilization phase. I haven't met one customer yet whose driven that car and didn't love it.
Spectre is a Rolls-Royce first. It just happens to have an electric drivetrain in it.
Q: What's inventory like at U.S. dealers?
A: It depends on the dealer. There's probably some inventory out there. Our goal is not to store a lot of inventory. We want the vehicles to be special to our clients. Our customers understand they may have to wait to get what they want.
Q: What's demand like for pre-owned Rolls-Royces?
A: We've seen an increase in demand this year for pre-owned Rolls-Royces. That's a really important segment to us. That's almost the springboard into a new one.
Q: What has Rolls-Royce told customers about pricing related to the tariffs?
A: Right now we have price protected everything through the end of June. That's where we're at right now. The most important thing is providing stability to our clients. We've had a relatively cautious approach [toward the tariffs]. The worst thing you can do is make rash decisions that are tough to unwind.
Q: As you mentioned, the company is making a huge investment at the Goodwood headquarters. Why not build more cars to boost the bottom line?
A: Our customers like the fact that we're not going to start chasing volume. That's not our business model. Once the company starts going after 10,000 cars, then it's 15,000 cars. Then what happens is you expand the plant, now you have to fill it. You have to keep that plant moving. It's a race to the bottom.
There are plenty of manufacturers with very expensive cars out there with full showrooms right now. We want to invest in the brand, we want to continue investing in the brand, but we want to grow it with bespoke.
If somebody is going to buy a new Rolls-Royce, they want to make sure it's their Rolls-Royce. The only way to do that is to personalize it.
Q: Are giant screens that take up the entire dashboard coming to Rolls-Royce?
A: Our clients love being able to touch the knobs and interact with them. They love when the vents get humidity on them from the AC. Our cars will advance from a technical perspective internally. Once you become too futuristic and this trend with big screens -- it takes away from the client experience a little bit. I would doubt we would see that trend anytime soon.