Rolls-Royce cars chief quits

THE chairman and chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has unexpectedly resigned, triggering fears over the company‘s ambitious expansion plans.

Tony Gott, 48, had held the job since March 2002 and overseen the company‘s move from Crewe to state-of-the-art facilities in Goodwood, West Sussex.

A spokesman for Rolls-Royce's parent company BMW insisted that Gott‘s resignation had been for 'personal reasons' and that existing sales targets remained unchanged. He declined to elaborate on the precise reasons for Gott‘s departure apart from denying that he had been fired.

Rolls-Royce, which is celebrating its centenary, plans to sell 1,000 cars this year. That target remains its main goal for the year, BMW said.

Gott was seen as instrumental in developing Rolls-Royce under its new owner. BMW acquired Rolls-Royce in 1998 and has spent hundreds of millions of pounds revamping the luxury car maker and dragging it into the 21st century.

Gott spent almost £600m developing the all-new £250,000, 155mph Phantom and a further £60m moving the firm from its traditional Midland manufacturing base to new premises in southern England.

Gott is being replaced with immediate effect by Karl-Heinz Kalbfell, 54, who joined BMW in 1977 and most recently was senior vice-president of group marketing.