Rolls Royce Limited was established in 1906 by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce and was established as a luxury brand of British origin. It continued to be a success story till 1971 as its also manufactured aero-engines for several decades. However, with the advent of RB211 engines is faced a severe downfall and the British government acquired the brand. In 1973, the car division was separated from the parent company and Rolls Royce Motors came into existence.

 

In 1980 Rolls Royce was acquired by an engineering firm Vickers and it remained its subsidiary till 1998. When Vickers put up Rolls Royce for sale in ’98 Volkswagen Group and BMW emerged as the strongest contenders and VW was the ultimate winner even when BMW was already associated with the brand. BMW used to sell engines and other auto components to the Rolls Royce brand of cars. An agreement was signed between VW and BMW according to which the former would use the brand name from 1998-2002. From January 2003, BMW is the current owner of the Rolls Royce brand.

 

Rolls Royce entered in India in 1999 as Rolls Royce Energy Systems India Private Limited in Delhi. Later in 2004, Rolls Royce Marine was launched in Mumbai and in 2005, Rolls-Royce Operations India Private Limited launched in Bangalore to coordinate sub-contract engineering.

 

Rolls Royce Motors sells its model Phantom in India which is an automobile that defines ultimate classic luxury in its own style. Rolls Royce Ghost is also expected to be launched in the Indian auto market by end of 2009.