By Ilka Kopplin
GENEVA--Luxury car maker Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (RR.LN) will
start selling its first sports-utility vehicle in 2018 at the
earliest, the chief executive of the BMW AG (BMW.XE) subsidiary
said Wednesday.
The SUV that Rolls-Royce had announced a few weeks ago will
enter the market "not yet in 2017," Torsten Muller-Otvos said in an
interview at the Geneva Motor Show.
The brand's annual sales can rise to between 5,500 and 6,500
vehicles without harming its exclusivity, he said, but stressed
that Rolls-Royce doesn't have a particular sales target to reach.
Last year, the U.K. company sold 4,063 cars.
Mr. Muller-Otvos reiterated that he is confident that his brand
can increase sales by at least one car this year. The unit had a
"good" start to 2015, and Mr. Muller-Otvos predicted strong sales
in the U.S., the Middle East and Asia.
Business in Russia is difficult and China has become a
challenging market due to a government crackdown on corruption, he
said.
Write to Ilka Kopplin at ilka.kopplin@wsj.com
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