Why Rolls-Royce is making its first EV a coupe

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 The Wraith was first launched in 2013 and has now been withdrawn from sale in the U.S. due to emissions regulations.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.

The Spectre is not a direct replacement for Wraith, despite being designed with a similar fastback shape.

"It is not in any way the successor of the Wraith. It's a different proposition for our clients. It will feel very different, it will look very different," Mueller-Oetvoes said.

The CEO would not be drawn on technical details such as range, only saying it was "sufficient," echoing a previous Rolls-Royce reply when asked about the power output of its cars.

Rolls-Royce will switch to electric power when it replaces core models in its range, Mueller-Oetvoes said.

"We will go from combustion engines straight into electric when we substitute certain positions in our portfolio, and that is the way forward," he said.

The brand has not launched its last model powered by a V-12 gasoline, Rolls-Royce's sole engine currently, sources within the company said.

The next electric model will be a crossover arriving in 2024, built on the same aluminum spaceframe as the Spectre and current models, according to predictions from AutoForecast Solutions.

Mueller-Oetvoes would not confirm the next EV in the lineup.

Electric power is well suited to Rolls-Royce, Mueller-Oetvoes said. "It's silent, very torquey, and offers you the waftability we are famous for," he said. "We are not a brand that defines itself with loud engine noises, exhaust pipe noises and so on."

The EV will be charged from a regular plug rather than via the wireless induction charging that Rolls-Royce showcased on the 102 EX electric Phantom prototype from 2011.

Many Rolls-Royce owners already have an electric car, Mueller-Oetvoes said. "So, they are already equipped with infrastructure on charging at home, at their offices and so on," he said.

Rolls-Royce is on course for a record year after the brand sold 2,989 vehicles in the first half of 2021. The marque is not experiencing any problems sourcing semiconductors.

"We are part of the BMW Group and we get 100 percent of all the chips we need," Mueller-Oetvoes said in a separate interview with Automotive News Europe at the Munich auto show.

"As you can imagine, contribution per car on a Rolls Royce is far higher than any other BMW. For that reason, we are fully secure with chips that also BMW uses."