Rolls-Royce Will No Longer Produce Gas-Powered Vehicles by 2030, First EV to Arrive in 2023

Sophie Webster, Tech Times 29 September 2021, 04:09 pm

Rolls-Royce, the famous British automaker of massive and expensive vehicles powered by 12-cylinder engines, announced on Sept. 29 that it will no longer sell gasoline-powered vehicles by 2030.

From then on, the automaker will only sell electric vehicles.

Rolls-Royce's Switch to EV

Rolls-Royce also announced the name of its first electric vehicle, the Spectre. Its official launch is in 2023, according to Engadget.

The announcement surprised the public as the automaker is known to only power muscular petroleum-fueled piston engines.

However, the engineering basis for all Rolls-Royce models that was launched in 2017, called "Architecture of Luxury," was also made for electric-powered vehicles.

The strategy of using the same structure for both electric and gas-powered models is shared by the automaker's parent company, BMW.

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BMW has stated that its goal is to maintain the flexibility to produce electric, hybrid, and gasoline-powered models to shift immediately when the market demands it.

In a lot of ways, electric power would seem great for a Rolls-Royce vehicle. The reason why its vehicles are powered by V12 engines is that they give ample power, but they can still run quietly and smoothly.

The car company also uses complex transmissions that rely heavily on GPS mapping data to give a smooth and reliable performance.

The terms that can describe a lot of electric vehicles are quiet, smooth, and powerful. One disadvantage of using electric vehicles is their massive battery packs, but that should not be an issue for the car company.

Even Rolls-Royce's smaller models, like Ghost, are already packed with massive and heavy batteries and parts compared to other vehicles.

The company's executives have stated in the past that their customers did not want to drive electric vehicles. It is because of the hassle of having to charge them constantly, plus electric vehicles are known to have short driving ranges.

The company produced a prototype called Phantom about ten years ago, but the customers were not interested enough to try it out, according to Standard UK.

Phantom only went 125 miles on a full charge, and there were not many electric car charges available at the time. A lot of electric cars today can go farther than 125 miles, and there are more charging stations.

The company is not ready to drop its prices and its luxury tag even if it switches to electric models. Earlier this month, Rolls-Royce tested its electric plane as it shows-off its new innovation.

In 2017, Rolls-Royce introduced its most expensive vehicle, the Sweptail.

The Spectre EV

The Spectre will start testing on public roads in the next couple of months. The company revealed images of the electric vehicle, and it showed that the car is covered in gold writing and has the same shape as the Wraith.

The Spectre will be different from the Wraith because it will have a new architecture, according to CNN.

The electric vehicle will share its fundamental engineering with the more recent models of Rolls-Royce like Phantom, Ghost, and the Cullinan SUV. All of which follows the automaker's "Architecture of Luxury."

Rolls-Royce is known to name its models after spiritual apparitions. For example, Phantom, Ghost, and Wraith. However, that is not an absolute rule because The Cullinan is named after a diamond.

The car company gave no further details on the electric vehicle's driving range or its performance attributes. The vehicles of Rolls-Royce have a starting price of $300,000 and above.