A visit to Rolls-Royce’s factory in Goodwood reminds you that Rolls is a carmaker like no other. Set amid the lovely West Sussex countryside, it resembles a fancy hotel, amid wildflower meadows, reed-fringed ponds and lime trees, with foliage trimmed into perfect cubes. The reaction of the maker of the world’s swankiest cars to a dip in sales is also untypical. The firm revealed on January 8th that in 2024 it sold 5,712 cars, 320 fewer than in 2023. But is Chris Brownridge, the boss since late 2023, concerned? “Absolutely not!” he declares, noting that “we don’t see ourselves as a car company.”