Rolls Royce recalls cars in Middle East over fault

Luxury auto maker Rolls-Royce is recalling a number of its cars across the Middle East due to an issue with a water pump component overheating. The problem, which only affects models of the Rolls Royce Ghost constructed in April and May last year, led the company to recall 280 vehicles worldwide. Rolls Royce says that it has recalled 20 cars in the region. "The actual issue is the housing [of] that water pump is made of plastic and supplied by a third party supplier - it was faulty and good crack leading to some coolant, which could seep into the electronics of the water pump and basically malfunction it,” Alaa Tarabay, corporate communications manager, MEA, at Rolls Royce, told Arabian Business. Tarabay said that Rolls Royce had all of the serial numbers of the affected vehicles and tracing the owners was a relatively simple process. "We've already started writing to our customers personally and have called them asking to bring their cars in so we can do the work,” he said, adding that the repair takes approximately 90 minutes. Rolls-Royce saw its sales in the Middle East increase by 30 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2012. The automotive firm did not disclose specific financial figures, but said that Saudi Arabia has seen “exceptional growth”, while other Gulf markets such as the UAE and Qatar achieved “healthy growth rates”. Rolls-Royce attributed its growth in the region to high market demand for its Phantom and Ghost models. The Phantom Series II was debuted at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2012.