Rolls Royce will also be fully electric

Last year, Rolls Royce announced its first EV. It had, for a British luxury brand, a strange ‘James Bond’ name: Spectre. The first copies of these electric Rolls are expected to be released at the end of this year. The Specter may be Rolls Royce’s first foray into the world of electric cars, but it certainly won’t be the last. This week confirmed The CEO of the brand, which has been working under the wings of BMW for some time, that all new Rolls Royce models released from 2030 will be electric.

Last years before V12

Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO of Rolls-Royce, believes the Specter will prove to the brand’s customers that electric Rolls will be a serious alternative to the current roaring V12 models. They will remain in production until at least 2030. The CEO expects that models such as the Cullinan and Ghost will continue to be popular in the coming years. Rolls sales figures have been steady over the years, at around 500 units a year.

“‘The cars we make must be Rolls-Royce first, then electric. That’s why we decided to go for the typical Rolls-Royce proportions. It has to look like a Rolls-Royce: monolithic, big in stature, and proud of the pantheon grille. It drives like A Rolls-Royce, it accelerates like a Rolls-Royce, it floats like a Rolls-Royce, and it’s still electric,” says Müller-Ötvös.

The character

The first electric Rolls will appear on the road at the end of this year. Of course we will not kiss them too much. Certainly not here in the Netherlands, where a total of 27 new Rolls-Royces have been registered over the past two years.

Specter’s specs are, for an EV, not very impressive, by the way. With a weight of over 3000kg and a WLTP range of 400km, it’s no high flyer. However, according to the CEO of the brand, reaching their customers is not that important. “They drive short distances, in and around cities, and can charge at home and at the office”.

Photo: Rolls Royce