Rolls-Royce CEO: Electric 102EX is Dead, No SUV, Ghost Variations Likely Coming Soon

Rolls-Royce CEO: Electric 102EX is Dead, No SUV, Ghost Variations Likely Coming Soon:

We sat down recently with Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös, and the biggest news is this: The all-electric Rolls-Royce 102EX concept, which debuted at last year’s Geneva auto show, won’t reach production. The Phantom-based 102EX was built as a sort of market-research project, and more than 500 potential customers were given the chance to test it. “The results were ambivalent,” the CEO now admits. Its acceleration and utter silence were highly praised, but “on the other hand, the charging times are not acceptable, and the range is not acceptable,” says Müller-Ötvös. What about other alternative powertrains? “In the long run, I could imagine an alternative powertrain, but that technology would be different.” He explains that a plug-in hybrid could work as a solution that combines “the advantages of both worlds.”

In the nearer term, Müller-Ötvös aims to make the Ghost line incrementally more dynamic: “A Rolls-Royce can certainly not be sporty in the sense of an overly firm suspension, but it can certainly be more dynamic than it was in the past. The Ghost is definitely a driver’s car, with an 80 percent conquest rate. Those customers use their car every day.” When asked about sportier variations of the Ghost, Müller-Ötvös hints at the obvious coupe and convertible, as we’ve already seen with the Phantom Coupé and Drophead Coupé.
But there’s a limit: “You cannot change a brand overnight and build a true sports car, low and Ferrari-like. We wouldn’t do that.” And Müller-Ötvös also rules out adding an SUV, as Bentley intends to do: “Rolls-Royce stands for the best sedans in the world, magnificent coupes and convertibles, and we really would like to retain this identity. I have a difficult time imagining an SUV for our brand.” Moreover, he strictly dismisses the option of launching a car positioned below the Ghost.
Müller-Ötvös, however, would love to offer coachbuilding services and one-off derivatives, but wistfully says that “the hurdles to homologate such cars are gigantic. It is not a financially worthwhile business.” He also says that he welcomes more competition: “I believe this segment is strongly driven by supply. I don’t have a problem with more competition and new brands. I wonder how credible their heritage would be. But that is for [those brands] to answer.”


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