Nigeria biggest Rolls Royce market in Africa

Nigeria is the biggest market for Rolls Royce in Africa with an estimated 230 units on the roads according to recent findings. The figure keeps growing by the day so much so that, not even the high price tag can hinder ownership of the top-notch luxury marquee by the anointed few.

One hundred million naira (N100m) is a lot of money, but this amount is not enough to buy the flagship Rolls-Royce Phantom extended wheelbase test-driven alongside its Ghost and Wraith siblings by select group of motoring journalists.

The ride and drive took place last weekend at the Royal Cafe located on the Banana Island, Ikoyi, an exquisite serenity deliberately designed by man and embellished by nature for the super rich in the society.

The Rolls Royce brand is so cherished that, it is not everybody’s car. Those who buy Rolls Royce don’t have time for price negotiation and these are people that walk into the showroom and have their choice of car specked-up to their tastes in terms of drive-train, choice of colours inside and outside; whatever they want.

Rolls Royce is made exclusively for high profile individuals who had worked successfully over the years and wants to go out of their way to make life very pleasurable for themselves. Target owners of the Rolls Royce brand are not disclosed to the general public as a result of certain agreement that borders on confidentiality between the dealership and the buyer.

For a Rolls Royce customer that wants to enjoy the drive, he will drive the Wraith, for the customer that wants to drive his car to work on a daily basis, he will drive a Ghost and for that customer who wants to be chauffeur-driven and appear stately at events, the Phantom is the choice car.

For instance, the foot-mat and the seat materials are products of animal skin processed to give the Rolls Royce brand a unique outlook. For instance, it requires the skin of 12 bulls to produce the leather in a Phantom, for the Ghost and Wraith, nine bulls respectively is the numbers required.

It requires layers and layers of processed leather to get a superior and superb quality leather. On the average, it takes four to six months to customize a Rolls Royce, Phantom, Ghost and the Wraith depending on the level of personal detailing that the customer requires.

Tolu Badamosi, brand manager, Rolls Royce Motor Cars in Nigeria explained that, there is usually a timeline to confirm the features a customer needs in his car such as  the rear theatre entertainment, fridges, rear and side curtains and so on. It gets to a point where the dealership through the manufacturers cannot do anything about the car anymore.

“Rolls Royce Motor Car freaks are so pampered that, when we get their orders as to how you want your going into production would look like, we give you up to two to three weeks to sit with madam to think of how you want your car to look like and if there is will be any changes to be effected.’’ He noted.

 For the privileged few in the society who purchase this precious jewel, there are other reasons to think of a Phantom and its siblings particularly as good return on investment. It is the flagship model in the Rolls-Royce line-up.

Listed on the range in this luxury fraternity are the Ghost sedan and Wraith coupe. If you are buying a Rolls-Royce, which is supposed to be the car that builds the best car in the world, surely you want the very best one of which any on this models can fit in.

With the high-tech features hide beneath old-school styled-cabin, the Phantom is the purest Royce you can buy. It has been around for 12 years give or take a facelift, and back in 2003 when it was launched, it was the one and only model available from the marque.

Maintaining the Rolls Royce in Nigeria is not a problem at all. This is because unlike before now when engineers are flown into the country to maintain the vehicle for the owners, Rolls Royce Motor Cars outlet in Nigeria can now be maintained by a team of expatriates from Spain and Greece managing the aftersales service department.

And every quarter, there is a regional training supporting the aftersales to make sure they meet the Rolls Royce standard and to make sure they deliver on the brand promise to customers. “One thing I can tell you is that, you can never ever have the Rolls Royce stucked on the road.” He concluded.