Rolls-Royce Motor Cars's CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös will retire in November after a 14-year run turning around a 100-plus year-old auto company by making it an object of fascination among A-listers.
The British company announced on Thursday that Chris Brownridge, CEO of BMW UK, will succeed Müller-Ötvös in leading the automaker starting Dec. 1.
"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," Müller-Ötvös said in a statement announcing his retirement.
"I am proud of the role my exceptional team and I have played in contributing significantly to the U.K. economy and to the global recognition of Britain’s ability to produce the world’s best luxury products.”
Müller-Ötvös's legacy
Müller-Ötvös joined the BMW Group in 1989, holding branding and product management roles during his time there. He became Rolls-Royce's CEO in 2010, when the company had fewer cars to offer and customers to serve. It was also gate-kept in some ways, accessible only to the most elite and often driven by chauffeurs.
At the time, the company's manufacturing center at Goodwood, West Sussex, only produced two models—Phantom and Ghost. But under the German-born executive, Rolls-Royce began making Wraith and Dawn models as well as the brand's first-ever sports utility vehicle, Cullinan.
Müller-Ötvös's stewardship has established Rolls-Royce as a luxury powerhouse, growing sales by 500% from 1,000 cars in 2009 to over 6,000 cars in 2022. Notably, the average age of a Rolls-Royce buyer has dropped over the same period, from 56 to 43, even as average Rolls-Royce prices have doubled—pointing to a shift in consumer preferences, the growing market for luxury cars and the brand's relevance among younger clients.
“The brand is contemporary today, I would say cool again,” Müller-Ötvös told CNBC. “That makes me extremely proud as I look back and see what a fabulous, fabulous journey we had.”
The 63-year-old executive also made changes to the customizations in Rolls-Royce vehicles, which have proven lucrative for the company by boosting sales as customers feel a greater sense of ownership from personalizing their cars.
The strength of the brand and its market is reflected in its performance during a year of economic volatility across the world. In 2022, the brand raked in its highest ever sales in its nearly 120-year-long history amid global economic slowdown and soaring inflation, as the wealthy continued to splurge on Rolls-Royce's luxury cars.
Representatives at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars declined to comment further and pointed Fortune to the company's press release.
Rolls-Royce's EV pivot
Müller-Ötvös's departure comes at a time as the auto industry grapples with adapting to the rise of electric vehicles. In 2021, the BMW-owned company said it would make only EVs by 2030, underscoring its commitment to steer away from fuel-guzzling cars.
Müller-Ötvös helmed the company's new electrification era with the introduction of the "ultra-luxury" Spectre car last year. He has emphasized that as the company begins its pivot to EVs, its cars will always remain Rolls-Royces first, before being an electric car. The brand's popularity and appetite for EVs meant that Spectre cars, priced at over $400,000, quickly sold out all the way until 2025.
