Although the company was reluctant at first, Rolls Royce admitted that it works on an EV.
Rolls Royce creates some of the most luxurious road-going cars and has done so for over a century. Once, the company claimed that it had no plan whatsoever to produce plug-in electric vehicles. However, the world left them with no choice. Electric cars are undoubtedly the future, and Rolls Royce now wants to be part of it.
Almost 20 big cities around the world have already announced plans to ban diesel and gas vehicles by 2030. In such a situation, the EV market is expected to grow significantly. Doing so will undoubtedly force reluctant car manufacturers to get on board if they want to survive.
Although there is still no demand for a Rolls Royce EV, the company simply has no other choice but to start developing electric vehicles if it wants to stay relevant in the years ahead.
“There is no demand from customers (for an EV), but we need to be in a position to sell them a car if legislation forbids them from driving a combustion-engine car into the center of a city,” a Rolls-Royce spokesman told Automotive News.
CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös revealed that Rolls Royce tested its market segment for EV interest back in 2011. The company even introduced an electric version of the Phantom’s, dubbed 102EX, at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.
The 102EX Concept produced 389 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque, enough for a 0-60 time in under 8 seconds, but with a top speed limited at 99 mph. Besides, its 124-mile range certainly wasn’t enough for prospective buyers, resulting in a total lack of interest. But that was 2011. Things have changed a lot since then.
Torsten further revealed that they would not develop any plug-in hybrids. Instead, they intend to go straight to zero-emission cars.
After all, Rolls Royce is one of the manufacturers creating some of the most expensive and luxurious cars out there. With customers with such deep pockets, there’s simply no reason to cut corners here, right?
Unfortunately, Rolls Royce’s upcoming EV isn’t set to be released until about 10 more years, so we’ll have more than enough time to see it coming.
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