DUBAI: The Arabian Gulf luxury car market is set for a major boost when the first Cullinan — the state-of-the-art SUV from Rolls-Royce — appears in regional dealerships later this year.
Middle East deliveries of the all-terrain vehicle, which will sell for around 2.2m riyals ($586,667) — depending on the level of customization the customer wants — are set to begin in September, but already there is a healthy forward market for the one of the glitziest 4x4s on the market.
The car was publicly unveiled at an event in the showrooms of Abu Dhabi Motors in the UAE capital on Sunday, following recent private viewings — and order placings — in Saudi Arabia. Joseph Tayar, brand manager for the German-owned but British-built car said that the early order book had been “phenomenal.”
He estimated that more than 100 vehicles had already been ordered in Abu Dhabi, and that the vast majority of those were “premium” cars with the full range of customized extras.
“People have been on the waiting list for the Cullinan for the past 18 months, and they are going to want everything Rolls-Royce can give them in terms of luxury and sophistication,” he said.
In Saudi Arabia, the car has already been viewed privately in Riyadh and Jeddah, with a third unveiling scheduled for Al-Khobar later this month.
Allan Gall, the Rolls-Royce brand manager at the Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors dealership in Jeddah, declined to give specific order numbers, but he said: “There is a general excitement about a four-wheel drive Rolls-Royce. People have been waiting a long time for this car to arrive.
“It has been a very good introduction for us. Many orders have been taken at the private events in Saudi Arabia and customers are going for the premium end,” he added.
Rolls-Royce’s German owner BMW expects big sales for the Cullinan in the Middle East — a traditionally strong market for the luxury brand — and is mounting a big marketing push in the region.
Abu Dhabi’s Rolls-Royce dealership has been the brand’s best performer worldwide in three of the past four years, coming in ahead of key global luxury markets such as Beijing, London and Los Angeles.
Ruling families and business leaders across the Gulf have traditionally regarded Rolls-Royce cars as the ultimate luxury, valuing their quality engineering in the region’s demanding road conditions and climate
T.E. Lawrence, the British World War I officer sometimes known as Lawrence of Arabia, said: “A Rolls in the desert is above rubies,” after he used a fleet of armored Rolls-Royce cars in desert campaigns.
Launching the car in May, Torsten Muller-Otvos, Rolls-Royce’s chief executive, said: “Luxury is no longer an urban concept. More and more it is about embracing and experiencing the wider world. Our customers expect to go everywhere in luxury.”
The Cullinan — named after the world’s largest diamond — is Rolls-Royce’s first foray into the fast-growing but highly competitive SUV market, in which rivals Bentley and Porsche have upped the stakes with their Bentayga and Macan models. Aston Martin plans to launch an SUV, the Varekai, next year.