Rolls-Royce production returns to normal after lockdown

Four months after re-opening, Goodwood plant has resumed work with all staff retained.

Production at the Rolls-Royce factory in Goodwood, West Sussex has returned to pre-lockdown levels four months after reopening.

The facility near Chichester had shut down when the nationwide lockdown was introduced, but returned to a single shift pattern on the production line on May 4, with office-based staff working from home wherever possible.

However, four months later, the second shift has returned to work, two weeks after the company launched the new-generation Ghost. Rolls-Royce says demand for its cars is on the rise again, particularly in markets where the Covid peak has passed.

Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, said: “Throughout Rolls-Royce there is a renewed sense of energy, enthusiasm and optimism. This gives me great confidence for our future; I also believe it sends enormously positive signals to our local community, our industry and the country as a whole.

“I wish to thank my entire team for their determination and commitment, which has enabled us to reach this point so rapidly. That we’ve done so while keeping everyone safe underlines the fact that Rolls‑Royce is a family, in which we all look out for one another. I’m particularly delighted that we’ve maintained our workforce.

“Our people and the skills and talents they bring to our business are fundamental to our success and make Rolls-Royce the most dynamic, fascinating and exciting company in the world.”

The new Rolls-Royce Ghost, launched at the beginning of September, is the next generation of the firm’s most successful model ever. It has the latest evolution of the iconic 6.75-litre V12 engine, and sits on an advanced new platform that makes it the ‘most technologically advanced Rolls-Royce yet’.