Which company was founded in 1904 by Charles Rolls and Henry Royce?

Rolls-Royce was founded in 1904 by Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. Their partnership united Royce’s engineering skill with Rolls’s experience selling automobiles.

The two men met at Manchester’s Midland Hotel on 4 May 1904. By December, Rolls agreed to sell Royce’s cars through his London dealership, with the vehicles marketed under the Rolls-Royce name. Rolls-Royce Limited was formally incorporated in 1906, so 1904 refers to the founding partnership rather than the later legal company.

The business moved production to a new factory in Derby in 1908. Its early reputation rested on carefully engineered luxury cars, especially the 40/50 hp model later known as the Silver Ghost. During the First World War, the company also entered aircraft-engine production.

A common mix-up is treating Rolls-Royce as one unchanged modern company. The historic company’s automotive and aerospace interests were separated during the 1970s and 1980s; today, Rolls-Royce Holdings is chiefly associated with aerospace, while Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is owned by BMW.