LONDON -- Roll-Royce chose a two-door coupe as its first full-electric car rather than a more traditional sedan to make an "emotional" statement as it looks to appeal to the brand's increasingly younger demographic.
The BMW-owned brand announced the Spectre electric coupe on Wednesday, ahead of the first deliveries in 2023. The brand will be fully electric by 2030, it said.
"A coupe is very emotional car and for us, it was very important that we make a statement," Rolls-Royce CEO, Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, told Automotive News Europe.
Rolls-Royce has the youngest customer demographic of all BMW Group brands, including Mini, with an average age of 43, Mueller-Oetvoes said.
Younger buyers are concentrated in Rolls-Royce's core markets of China and also the U.S., where Rolls-Royce's cars are often name-checked in rap songs.
Launching its first battery-powered model as a coupe also helps to dispel Rolls-Royce's lingering image as being chauffeur driven. More than 80 percent of customers drive themselves, according to the automaker.
The Spectre will take the place of the Wraith coupe in Rolls-Royce's lineup. The Wraith was first launched in 2013 and has now been withdrawn from sale in the U.S. due to emissions regulations.
The Wraith and related Dawn convertible are the last two models built on an old BMW-sourced platform. The Spectre will be built on the same aluminum architecture that currently underpins the Phantom and newer models from the brand.