Rolls-Royce has so far held off the electrification boat, but it will of course come sooner or later. The CEO lifts a corner of the veil.
Rolls-Royce sells no car less because there are still thick V12s in their products. The wealthy customers do not look up or down at the gas tank and would certainly not have started driving Rolls if they had trouble with the ‘footprint’ of such cars. Parent company BMW also compensates for Rolls-Royce’s CO2 emissions, so European fines are kept at bay. In short; there does not seem to be much reason for Rolls-Royce to quickly switch to electric drive.
People are absolutely not in a hurry with it, but there is still something in the air. On Automotive News CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös announces that a fully electric car from Rolls-Royce will come ‘this decade’. The CEO confirms once again that there has never been an intermediate form in the form of partially electrified powertrains. According to the CEO, a fully electric powertrain is fine: “It (electric driving, ed.) Is quiet and powerful and that is the reason to switch from combustion to electrification in one step.” Müller-Ötvös explains that there is ‘no demand at all’ for EVs from the customer base, but that Rolls-Royce still wants to respond to the imminent closure of inner cities for cars with a combustion engine.
It is still a matter of coffee grounds to see what kind of car it is. The Ghost has recently started a completely new chapter with a V12 in the nose and top model Phantom does not seem a candidate to lose the combustion engine. Who knows, Rolls-Royce will come with an (SUV next to the) Cullinan with an electric powertrain. After all, the Cullinan attracts the less traditional Rolls-Royce customers and SUVs with a plug hot and happening. Before that, you can also buy a Phantom V or Silver Cloud with electric motor (photo 2, 3 and 4).