Rolls-Royce introduced the 102EX concept in 2011 but
the company hasn't followed up with an electric vehicle.
That's going to change as BMW board member Peter
Schwarzenbauer recently told Automotive News Europe that "there's no doubt
in my mind you will see an electric Rolls-Royce." Schwarzenbauer says a
number of owners have been asking about an EV since the company unveiled the
new Phantom but he concedes it will take awhile to develop one as an electric
powertrain can't be fitted to the company's aluminum spaceframe platform dubbed
the Architecture of Luxury.
Schwarzenbauer went on to say an electric
Rolls-Royce would have to use a different platform but it wouldn't have to
entirely all-new as they could simply "make a major adaption." There's
no word on when the model could arrive but the board member said the company is
asking customers a lot of questions about an electric vehicle and they want to
the model to have a range of between 500 and 600 km.
Schwarzenbauer also suggested the car could look slightly different than a
conventionally-powered Rolls-Royce but he doesn't think the company's iconic
grille is going away anytime soon.
Besides talking about the EV, Schwarzenbauer said we
shouldn't expect a Rolls-Royce with Level 5 autonomy for at least 10-15 years.
Furthermore, he said the upcoming BMW iNext will be launched with a Level 3
semi-autonomous driving system instead of the Level 5 system that has been
promised.
