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Rolls-Royce to skip hybrids and go straight to EVs

Rolls-Royce vehicles will one day feature electric drivetrains and autonomous driving modes, but that day isn't in the near or, even, medium term future.


Torsten Mueller-Otvoes, CEO of Rolls-Royce, spoke to Autocar during the Goodwood Festival of Speed and outlined the company's thinking on electrified drivetrains.

While the luxury car maker believes "electrification is the way forward" and "the propulsion system for the future", it thinks "nobody can predict when ... there will be no combustion engines".

In the interim, and before electric car technology is developed sufficiently, Mueller-Otvoes says Rolls-Royce's customers won't tolerate the "compromise" of a hybrid drivetrain.

The CEO says the people buy Rolls-Royce vehicles for "reasons of utmost luxury, so there can be no imperfections", which makes the brand an unsuitable place to experiment with "revolutionary technology".


Above: The autonomous and electric Rolls-Royce Vision Next 100.

Similarly, Mueller-Otvoes thinks self-driving technology will feature in future Rolls-Royce vehicles, but it's not a priority for the super-luxury marque.

As a part of the BMW Group, which also includes Mini, Rolls-Royce will have easy access to the autonomous vehicle technology being developed in Bavaria. Given that many Rolls-Royce cars are piloted by chauffeurs, self-driving vehicles are just not a priority for the company's clients.

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