Rolls Royce Gives Hip Hop the Truck It’s Been Waiting On

CBx Vibe: Hallucinating” Future

  • The Rolls Royce Cullinan will retail for $325,000
  • Production for Rolls Royce’s first SUV is projected to reach 4,000 units annually

Rolls Royce (RR -1.24%) released the 2019 Cullinan, its response to the luxury SUV released by Bentley (VLKAY -0.59%) in 2016. With a hefty price tag of $325,000 the truck is sure to make a statement with luxury vehicle purchasers. What’s the future for SUVs in the U.S auto market?

Why This Matters: Rappers have been calling for a Rolls Royce truck for years with artists like Juicy J mentioning the SUV as early as 2010. This isn’t the first time rappers have kept the pressure on automakers to release the vehicles of their dreams. Prior to the announcement of Bentley’s Bentayga truck, Future and Rick Ross were some of the most vocal advocates for the automaker to manufacture a SUV. Rappers have handsomely rewarded Bentley for delivering the truck by producing ample free marketing including more than 200 rap lyrics mentioning the vehicle and posting countless pictures on social media.

Truck sales made up 64% of total vehicle sales in 2017, according to AutoNation (AN +1.26%). This trend is leading some automakers to move away from producing sedans. Earlier this year, Ford (F-0.09%) announced it would discontinue production of most of its North American sedans. The Rolls Royce Cullinan and Bentley Bentayga are responses to this trend. Lamborghini also has a truck called the Urus coming out later in 2018, much to the delight of artists like Future. Other luxury automakers like Aston Martin and Ferrari have plans as well for trucks in the works.

What’s Next: Rolls Royce is set to start delivery of the Cullinan truck in early 2019 and analysts project the company will sell 4,000 of them. The Lamborghini Urus sold out of its first two years of production.

CBx Vibe: Hallucinating” Future

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