In the future, no carmaker will avoid the transition to electric mobility, including the most exclusive ones. While some will try to ease the strict rules at least a little, Rolls-Royce is gradually preparing for them. “I think that electrification is a great match for the brand,” says Rolls-Royce boss Torsten Müller-Ötvös in an interview with Aktuálně.cz.
Aktuálně.cz: When will we see the first electric Rolls-Royce?
Torsten Müller-Ötvös: I have regularly promised in recent years that the Rolls-Royce brand will be fully electric this decade. We will issue a statement in the near future to find out more about when exactly this will happen. Now I can only say that this will happen and the brand will really be fully electric by the end of this decade.
So will you make the announcement this year or next year?
It will be later this year, but I do not want to reveal more details yet.
Have you thought about a name for a new electric car? There is a lot of speculation that it could be Silent Shadow, for example.
Of course we read about a lot of names. We think about them, we smile at them… So I say, wait and see. The car will certainly have a certain name, which will be brand new.
Have you ever considered a hybrid or plug-in hybrid Rolls-Royce?
No never. Because we are a relatively small carmaker and the development costs are high, we decided to move from internal combustion engines directly to electric motors. For us, it is not a question of travel. Our customers already have private charging stations today because they own several different cars. And some of them also have an electric car, such as Tesla. So today they are equipped with the possibility of recharging at home or in their offices.
I think electrification (transition to fully electric drive – editor’s note) fits perfectly with the brand. It’s quiet, like the whole brand. It creates a number of capabilities, such as indescribable acceleration. Surely you remember that in the past we experimented with several electric cars. It started with a fully electric Phantom, followed by the 103EX concept. We talked to many customers about these cars, let them try them out and find out more about them.
Torsten Müller-Ötvös
The current head of the Rolls-Royce car company was born in 1960 and connected a large part of his life with the BMW group. He joined it in 1989 and held several positions, including in the management of the carmaker’s sales and marketing division. In 2000, he became the director of the Mini brand strategy and was right at its rebirth. In 2004, he moved, again to high positions, to BMW. In April 2010, he replaced Tom Purves as head of Rolls-Royce and still holds this position today.
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When you discuss this with your customers, are they passionate about electric cars, or do they still prefer twelve-cylinder gasoline?
I think they have fully embraced the idea that Rolls-Royce will become a purely electric brand. In addition, he understands that we will be forced to switch to full electric mobility anyway. Many cities forbid cars with internal combustion engines from entering their center. And that’s not the way for Rolls-Royce. Because our customers often live on the outskirts of the city and then go to its center – for example, for special occasions such as opera or dinner.
And when we talk about full electrification, is it a global market?
Yes, we have fun globally.
So can’t a situation arise where, for example, in Dubai we will see a Rolls-Royce petrol station, while in Europe it will be fully electric?
No, we certainly don’t plan to (sell a model with an internal combustion engine in one market and an electric motor in another – editor’s note). It is important to understand that we are moving step by step. It is not the case that overnight, out of nowhere, we discard all internal combustion engines and switch only to electric motors.
There is a lot of talk in Europe about the “fit for 55” plan (after 2035, among other things, it would no longer be possible to sell new cars with a non-electric motor – pozn. red.). How do you think it will affect the luxury car market, where do you belong? I believe that even after 2035, there would be a lot of enthusiasts who would be willing to pay for the internal combustion engine even more than today, but they simply will not be able to.
As I mentioned. We have decided and by the end of the decade we will be a fully electric car manufacturer. We will therefore fully comply with the new regulations. In addition, unlike, for example, Ferrari or Lamborghini, we do not define ourselves by the sound of the engine. We don’t need loud cars.
But I have one general remark to that plan. I think it is very ambitious, perhaps too ambitious, if the construction of infrastructure is not accelerated. The current plan is to have 3.5 million charging points, but I can say that this is not enough. About six million charging stations will be needed for the plan to work. As you can see today, the electric car market is growing so fast that no one could have predicted it a year or two ago.
And the last thing you want to see is that due to infrastructure problems, the demand for electric cars will fall. I can only urge European governments to invest in charging infrastructure. It will only work if the car industry and governments have a common approach to infrastructure.
You have already mentioned some older Rolls-Royce electrical concepts and one of them, the 103EX, had inductive charging. Is it something that is still relevant for the brand today, or will you make do with classic cables?
I’d say wait and see.
Have you considered hydrogen propulsion?
I think hydrogen is interesting. It’s all about fuel cells. If this technology really matures, and today no one knows when it will happen, then I say to myself, “Why not?” Because we store energy in batteries today, will we store energy in the future by refueling with hydrogen? Maybe. As part of the BMW Group, we have access to this technology, so I will not completely rule it out.
New car in almost a year
Has Rolls-Royce affected the current chip shortage crisis?
Not a bit. It’s an advantage to be part of BMW, as it ensures that we get whatever chip we need. This is mainly because the margin per car at Rolls-Royce is relatively high, the highest in the entire BMW Group.
How long does it take between a customer saying he wants a Rolls-Royce and actually owning it?
Today is almost a year. It’s been about six or seven months, but due to the huge worldwide interest, we have a long order list, so we get to one year.
This year will be a record deal for Rolls-Royce (sold 2989 cars in the first half of the year – editor’s note)?
It’s September, and since I know the list of orders, it’s probably possible to say that it will be another record year next store.
And the best seller is Cullinan?
No, they’re Cullinan and Ghost with very similar numbers. It’s great to have two very strong team players.
So didn’t you consider a smaller SUV? You have a pair of Phantom and Ghost, so Cullinan and something a little smaller…
They did not consider. Our portfolio is sufficiently balanced and we do not want to produce smaller models. Rolls-Royce must be a certain size. We also do not want to enter cheaper segments. Our basic model is and will be Ghost with a price of around 250 thousand euros. I don’t want to devalue the brand in any way by introducing it to the lower and cheaper parts of the market.
Will the Wraith and Dawn models get a new generation? Other Rolls-Royce models are relatively new…
You may remember that we introduced Wraith in 2013 and Dawn in 2015. Our life cycle is ten years, so we still have some time before that time expires.
This year, you established a separate bodybuilding coachbuild division. Why this year? Has the global coronavirus pandemic and your clients’ efforts to invest money in something exclusive somehow accelerated it?
Yes, you are partially right. We are also experiencing an unusual demand for cars with custom bodies. We decided to present a project with a unique body every other year (The first was this year’s Boat Tail convertible – editor’s note). This actually also indicates that we are already working on another such exclusive car. But I can’t tell you more.
BMW has in its offer armored cars at the level of protection VR6. Are armored versions of Rolls-Royces also made?
They don’t. When I joined the automaker almost twelve years ago, there was a project to make armored Phantoms. However, it turned out that this is not a good idea, because there is simply no demand for such cars. In safety-critical countries – such as South America – people do not use such cars to travel from point A to point B. To avoid problems, they prefer to fly by helicopter. Rolls-Royce customers are also relatively well known and have a great influence. So as a street thief, you’d better think twice about attacking such a car. And our customers know it, that’s why we don’t make such cars.
There is interest in scale models
Last year you introduced a very detailed model of the Cullinan SUV. What is the interest at all in miniature real cars?
Quite large. I wouldn’t say we have sold out, but even here there is quite a long waiting period (smiling). It is very popular among customers to have something at home on the shelf that they have parked in the garage. In addition, these models are fully functional. We know they are expensive, but they are worth it.
I can imagine that customers are willing to spend a lot for such a small model…
Yes, because virtually all customers who order this model want to see it in the exact configuration of their real car.
So when customers order a real car, do they also order a scale model of it?
Exactly.
If you have a free hand, is there a Rolls-Royce you would like to make?
No, I can’t think of anything we wouldn’t do. I can say that I am pleasantly surprised every day by what cars we produce in many different configurations. And this car (shows a photo of the Boat Tail model) I couldn’t imagine myself. Indeed, this car did not exist in my thoughts, it was dreamed by our customers. This shows their creativity.
And if someone buys a Rolls-Royce, can they have it in any body or interior color?
Everything is possible, our limit is your imagination. After the coronavirus pandemic, we observe that quite a few customers are investing in what I call a special color. The color that bears their name, and we can’t sell it. It is a shade specially designed by the customer, which will bring with it something that says “I would like such a color”. We also had a customer who brought a piece of his pedal car from when he was younger. He said he wanted that color in his car, and we prepared it for him.
How long does it take to prepare such a custom color?
It’s a bit longer process, because we first need to mix it, create it. Then we test it and only then is it ready. It won’t take years, but a few months. The customer receives several samples from us, chooses one, and then we paint his car with that shade.
BMW demonstrated the concept of a recyclable car made of recycled materials in Munich. Are recycled and secondary materials something Rolls-Royce does?
One thing is different for us when it comes to sustainability: up to 80 percent of all historically produced Rolls-Royces still exist. I would not rule out the use of any recycled material as long as it meets the luxury standard. This is very important for our customers. They are interested in the environment, but often in a slightly different way. For example, by reducing emissions in their production plants.
When it comes to buying a Rolls-Royce, it’s not the car, it’s more about the art they’re buying. And in that case, only the best materials will pass. So if it is possible to use recycled materials, why not. But I wouldn’t say they’re something we absolutely need. Even taking into account how long our cars have a life cycle.
What is your favorite car?
I like Dawn, I currently drive a Wraith Black Badge. I like those cars. I also regularly drive all Rolls-Royce models and take them all like our children. And I can’t say I prefer one child to another.
So no classic Rolls-Royce?
No, there are many beautiful Phantoms around the world, but I prefer modern cars, no matter how much I like historic ones.
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