Company overview
Rolls-Royce Limited began in 1904 as a partnership between Charles Rolls and Henry Royce in Manchester. Initially, the company focused on building luxury cars based on Royce’s engineering expertise. In 1906, the business was formally incorporated as Rolls-Royce Limited and a factory opened in Derby. During World War I, the company shifted to manufacturing aero-engines, and joint development of jet engines began in 1940. In the late 1960s, a flawed jet engine project led to financial difficulties, resulting in the company being nationalized in 1971. It was subsequently restructured and renamed Rolls-Royce (1971) Limited, which sold its car division to Vickers in 1980. Rolls-Royce plc emerged in 1987, becoming a publicly traded company. The company initially produced car chassis for coachbuilders to install bodies, beginning full production of complete cars in 1949 with the Silver Dawn. The company acquired Bentley in 1931, integrating its designs and production. Following World War II, car manufacturing moved to Crewe, where complete Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars were assembled with body pressings from Pressed Steel Company. In 1940, Rolls-Royce began producing aero-engines for the war effort in collaboration with Packard Motor Car Company. Postwar, a variant of the Merlin engine became the basis for numerous British military vehicles.
