In nine years, Rolls-Royce will stop selling vehicles that run on petrol, Chief Executive Torsten Müller-Ötvös said on Wednesday. Rolls-Royce will be joining other premium brands making the switch such as Volkswagen's Bentley and Jaguar's Land Rover.
The BMW-owned brand said in a statement that its fully electric powered car, named 'Spectre', will be on the market by the end of 2023.
“With this new product, we set out our credentials for the full electrification of our entire product portfolio by 2030,” Müller-Ötvös said. “By then, Rolls-Royce will no longer be in the business of producing or selling any internal combustion engine products.”
Müller-Ötvös described the news as the most important decision in the history of the brand since Charles Rolls and Henry Royce agreed to build cars together on May 4, 1904.
Since its inception, Rolls-Royce has served as the vanguard of powerful V-12 engine technology and quiet, smooth excellence for the world’s wealthiest, most discerning customers. During a Bloomberg TV interview Müller-Ötvös announced “We will go electric — it fits perfect to the brand; it is as silent, as torque as our great 12-cylinder engines.”
BMW has not set an end date for producing fossil fuel burning cars, instead setting a goal of 50% electric vehicle production by 2030, but its subsidiary Mini said in March it would go all-electric by the end of the decade.
The Jaguar brand of Tata Motors' Jaguar Land Rover will go all-electric by 2025, Volkswagen’s luxury unit Bentley Motors by 2030, and Mercedes Benz maker Daimler by the same year, if market conditions allow.
The Spectre will be the first fully formed production electric car from Rolls-Royce. Further details of the Spectre remain unknown, including pricing.
Also read: Jaguar Land Rover opens bookings for I-PACE Black in India
Also read: Days after shutting shop in India, Ford announces biggest investment in US for EVs