When the company launched its all-electric Spectre in 2022, then-boss Torsten Müller-Ötvös said Rolls-Royce would stop making cars with internal combustion engines by the end of the decade
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Rolls-Royce has dropped its plans to become an all-electric brand by 2030, in a change of direction under its new chief executive.
When the company launched its all-electric Spectre in 2022, then-boss Torsten Müller-Ötvös said Rolls-Royce would stop making cars with internal combustion engines by the end of the decade.
At the time, he also set targets for the Spectre to make up 20 per cent of annual sales in the near term and 70 per cent by 2028.
Mr Müller-Ötvös said: "By the end of 2030 we will no longer be in the business of producing vehicles with internal combustion engines."
However, The Times reports, his successor, Chris Brownridge, has now abandoned that goal – saying the landscape has changed and some customers still want traditional engines.
"For every client that loves an electric vehicle there is one who does not," Mr Brownridge said.
"Some clients do want an electric vehicle, we build what is ordered."
He said Rolls-Royce, which is owned by BMW and builds around 5,600 vehicles a year at Goodwood in West Sussex, would continue to offer V12-powered cars.
Brownridge said the earlier commitment had been “right at the time”, adding: “The legislation has changed.
"That prediction was based on a different set of circumstances. We recognise some clients would rather have a V12 engine. The V12 is part of our history.”
The paper reported he declined to say how many Spectres Rolls-Royce is currently selling, whether the company has set any replacement zero-emission target, or how many future electric models it plans to launch.
At the launch of the Spectre, Mr Müller-Ötvös said: "Spectre will elevate the global electric revolution."
A spokesperson for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said: "Electrification is perfectly suited to the Rolls-Royce brand, and Spectre’s commercial success reflects this.
"It is now the second most requested motor car in our portfolio, reaffirming electrification as our direction of travel.
"At the same time, our clients continue to ask for our V12 engine, and recent legislative developments allow us to continue to offer this alongside electric powertrains beyond 2030."
