Electric vehicles (EVs) may have taken a hit in recent months from a sales standpoint, but that’s not stopping carmakers from marching forward toward their zero-emission targets. Under BMW ownership, premier British luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce, best known for its powerful, yet under-stressed V-12 engines, recently announced its intentions of investing massively in EV production in the near future.
The company also announced its intention to release an all-new, fully electric model later this year. According to the carmaker, this is the result of a fantastic sales year in 2024, but also a noticeable growing interest in EVs from high-end luxury buyers.
Rolls-Royce Wants To Blend EVs With Its Popular Bespoke Service
In a press release, Rolls-Royce explained that the £300 million investment in its Goodwood facilities to expand EV production came from two important factors: growing demand for EVs, but also very high demand for its Bespoke service. For those unaware, Bespoke offers buyers the possibility to create an all-new Rolls-Royce to their liking by even altering the car’s body through a coach-building service. It comes at a very high cost, of course, but this was once a very popular trend in high-end luxury cars. Rolls-Royce brought it back with surprising success.
As a matter of fact, the company claims that 2024 was a record year for Bespoke commissions, with year-on-year content value increasing 10% on average per car. This is the highest level in Rolls-Royce’s history. From its press release:
These commissions drew inspiration from diverse themes, ranging from spectacular natural phenomena and the marque’s heritage to cherished personal milestones and classic films.
But, at the same time, Bespoke wasn’t only successful with vehicles powered by internal combustion engines (ICEs). It also ended up being quite popular for the all-electric Spectre, a model introduced last year as the company’s first-ever EV. As a matter of fact, Rolls-Royce says that the Spectre had the second-highest level of Bespoke content per vehicle last year. It therefore makes sense to see the company wanting to lean in that direction, since EV coachbuilding remains something not many established carmakers have taken a stab at.
What Will The Next Rolls-Royce EV Be?
There’s currently a lot of speculation around what the next Rolls-Royce EV could be, and the company has so far made no announcements. However, sources close to the matter suggest that it may be an SUV sized a tad smaller than the current Cullinan, something along the lines of a BMW iX.
One thing that’s for certain is that combining an SUV with EV propulsion will surely be a winning combination for Rolls-Royce as its two best-selling models last year, when all markets are combined, were the Cullinan and the Spectre. In total, the company sold 5,712 vehicles globally in 2024, the third-highest ever achieved in the carmaker’s history. Part of that success came from the all-electric Spectre. Rolls-Royce says that the Spectre proved even more popular than expected, and that it was the most requested Rolls-Royce model in Europe last year and the second-most demanded globally.
So, more EVs for Rolls-Royce! It’ll be interesting to see what will come out of these investments and which models the company will electrify next. We’ll keep following the Rolls-Royce electric transition closely and will report back here once we know more.
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