The very first all-electric Rolls-Royce will be the upcoming Spectre. The idea of an electric Rolls makes a lot of sense, which is why the brand isn’t going to stop at Spectre. Of course, emissions regulations are also a big part of Rolls’ electric offensive but the brand is switching to electrification because it wants to and it could happen as early as 2030.
In a recent report from Autocar, Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös spoke about the brand’s electric future and how regulations aren’t the only driver of its future. “We aren’t only driven by legal: we’re also driven by our fairly young clientele worldwide, and we’re seeing more and more people asking actively for an electrified Rolls-Royce.” he said.
He also went on to say that many current Rolls-Royce owners also own electric cars: “quite a lot of our clients already own an electric car, be it a Tesla, a BMW or some other model.” So giving them an all-electric Roller is actually something that would make many of its customers — who are consistently getting younger, with an average age of 43 years old — very happy.
Replacing all of its current models with EVs is no easy task but Rolls-Royce is aiming to do so by 2030. Thankfully, it has the backing of the BMW Group, which can help supply batteries and electric powertrains. However, don’t expect the brand’s massive investment into electrification to drive prices up. “We never price ‘cost-driven’, we price ‘segment-driven’ and ‘substance-driven’,” said Müller-Ötvös. Do Rolls-Royce customer really care about additional cost? Likely not but it’s nice to know that Rolls wont be shifting that extra investment to the customer.
What about autonomy? According to Müller-Ötvös, don’t expect it anytime soon. “We will introduce autonomous driving once it makes complete sense for our clients. So far, we haven’t reached that state.”
[Source: Autocar]
