Rolls-Royce puts EV plans on ice, with V12 engines to remain... For now
Luxury brand is the latest carmaker to slow plans for all-electric line-up, due to lack of demand
Rolls-Royce is the latest brand to revise its planned move to an EV-only line-up in the face of slower-than-expected uptake of battery vehicles.
When the brand’s first electric car, the Spectre, was announced in 2021, Rolls-Royce was planning to move to a fully electric portfolio by 2030. However, global demand, especially at the luxury end of the market, hasn’t matched anticipated levels.
A spokesperson for the brand told Auto Express that while it still has “great confidence in our electric powertrain”, the illustrious 6.75-litre V12 engine synonymous with Rolls-Royce will continue beyond the previous planned end-date. Rolls-Royce is yet to confirm a new date for the transition.
There’s no question mark over the Spectre’s future, though, with the 577bhp all-electric two-door, which costs from around £330,000, playing an important role in measuring the appetite for electric cars in the coming years.
Lamborghini, Porsche and Bentley have all revised their EV plans in recent weeks as take-up softens compared with the expectations of up to a decade ago, when strategies were originally plotted.
Lamborghini recently described demand for electric versions of its supercars as “very limited” and delayed plans for its first EV, although it has said a fully electric car is in its future development. For the medium term, though, hybrid-petrol engines will be the Italian brand’s focus.
In its annual earnings update earlier this week, Bentley rolled back on plans to build five EVs by 2035, effectively starting its planning from scratch beyond the Urban SUV, an electric model sitting at the entry point, in terms of size, of the plush British brand’s line-up. It’s scheduled to arrive next year.
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