Rolls-Royce details plan to follow up 2023 Spectre coupé with EV versions of Phantom, Cullinan and Ghost.
Rolls-Royce had previously revealed that its first all-electric model, which is due to be introduced in 2023, will be Spectre Coupe, coming in as a replacement to the Rolls-Royce Wraith. Following the Spectre, Rolls-Royce has now announced that successors to the Cullinan SUV, Ghost saloon and Phantom limousine will also be all-electric models before IC engines are phased out by 2030.
- Successors to Cullinan, Ghost and Phantom will be all-electric
- No new combustion-engined models will be launched anymore
- Rolls Royce’s current V12 engine will bow out in 2030
Rolls-Royce 2030 electrification strategy
Speaking to our sister publication Autocar UK in the wake of the announcement that Rolls-Royce sold more cars in 2021 than in any previous year in its 117-year history, CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos said it’s important that each model is replaced by an EV alternative as the firm progresses towards a pure-electric line-up by 2030.
The British firm will refresh its current range in the coming years but won’t launch any more combustion models, making the Mk2 Ghost the final petrol-powered Rolls-Royce to be introduced.
Muller-Otvos highlighted the UK government’s planned 2030 ban on new ICE car sales as a particular incentive, but said: “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.”
The age of the average Rolls-Royce buyer has dropped sharply in recent years to just 43, and Muller-Otvos notes that “quite a lot of our clients already own an electric car, be it a Tesla, a BMW or some other model”, and so have experience when it comes to operating EV chargers and range management.
He wouldn’t be drawn on the technical details of Rolls-Royce’s future EVs beyond confirming that “the entire portfolio will be electrified”. The Spectre’s 150-million-mile testing programme will no doubt inform the development of its future range-mates, accelerating the lead time of each EV based on Goodwood’s Architecture of Luxury.
Rolls-Royce EVs to be priced similarly as IC models
Electrifying the entire portfolio, said Muller-Otvos, is “a huge task for a relatively small company”, but the required investment won’t automatically translate into more expensive cars. “We never price ‘cost-driven’, we price ‘segment-driven’ and ‘substance-driven’,” explained Muller-Otvos, emphasising that the Spectre – which will arrive in 2023, shortly after the similarly shaped Wraith bows out – will be priced according to its positioning rather than its powertrain.
The future electric Phantom, therefore, won’t necessarily cost more than the current V12 petrol-engined car. A priority for the Phantom EV and its range-mates will be exhibiting characteristics that compensate for the loss of Rolls-Royce’s venerable V12, which will bow out in 2030. The firm’s electric powertrain will, therefore, be “very torquey”, promised Müller-Ötvös, and will allow for “waftability, silent movement, a magic carpet ride, utmost quality and so on.”
Rolls-Royce in India
Rolls-Royce currently has all of its five models on sale in India – the Wraith, Dawn, Ghost, Cullinan and the Phantom. Rolls-Royce is now set to bring the new Ghost Black Badge to India in the coming months. The launch was recently confirmed by Sangwook Lee, regional sales manager – Asia Pacific for Rolls-Royce.
Are you excited about all-electric successors to the Cullinan, Ghost and the Phantom? Let us know in the comments below.
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Rolls-Royce registers its highest ever sales in 2021