Reaction as Rolls-Royce boss says Covid increased sales as ‘People realised life is short’

How was your Covid lockdown?

Did a loved one die? Did you struggle with mental health issues? Did you live in fear? Did you buy a Rolls-Royce?

I’m guessing the answer is one or possibly all of them, except buying a car for an eye-watering sum.

However, during the pandemic the rich got richer, a lot richer. For example, the 400 richest Americans added $4.5 trillion to their wealth last year, a 40 per cent bump.

Nice work if you can get it.

So there was a lot of cash splashing around in the money stratosphere, well out of the reach of our grubby hands.

What do you do when you have a few million burning a hole in your pocket? Buy a Rolls-Royce, of course.

However, the boss of the luxury car firm chief executive Torsten Müller-Ötvös says the coronavirus is to thank for it.

He said the pandemic led many people to be reminded of their own mortality so they bought a car.

I had the same feeling and bought a bottle of gin.

Life is short

Müller-Ötvös told the Guardian: “Many people witnessed people in their community dying from Covid and that made them think life can be short and you’d better live now rather than postpone until a later date.

“That has helped Rolls-Royce.”

He added: “It is very much due to Covid that the entire luxury business is booming worldwide,” he said.

“People couldn’t travel a lot, they couldn’t invest a lot into luxury services…and there is quite a lot of money accumulated that is spent on luxury goods.”