Rolls Royce are celebrating this week after recent sales figures for the previous year showed that the luxury car manufacturer had sold a total of 3,538 vehicles over the course of 2011 signalling a new record for the renowned car makers.

The sales figures are the highest Rolls Royce has achieved in its 107 year history, with China being revealed as the biggest consumer of Rolls Royce cars in the last year, beating the US which had been the largest market for the car manufacturer since 2003 when the Phantom was first launched. The UK was revealed as the third biggest market for Rolls Royce throughout 2001, following behind China and the USA.

The recent statistics published by Rolls Royce showed that sales in the Pacific and Asia grew by 47% over the course of 2011, with business in the UK rising by 30%. The luxury brand credited its flagship model, the Rolls Royce Phantom, and the Rolls Royce Ghost, for helping to attract sales over the course of the last 12 months.

Sales for these vehicles, with the Ghost boasting a starting price of £165,000, were 31% higher in 2011 compared to the previous year, outstripping the previous record set in 1978 and the success of the popular model of the time, the Silver Shadow ll.

Rolls Royce are looking to capitalise on this success further in 2012 with plans to break into new markets including South America, develop its product range, and also to expand its existing plant at Goodwood in West Sussex.