Rolls-Royce abandons plan to go EV only, will continue making V12 engines

Rolls-Royce is the latest manufacturer to back away from an EV-only target date.

Chris Brownridge, Rolls-Royce’s CEO since late 2023, told The Guardian and other British media outlets the brand is scrapping its target of becoming an electric-only manufacturer by 2030.

The goal was set in 2022 when then-CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös launched the Spectre EV coupe. At the time Rolls-Royce believed EVs would make up 70 per cent of its sales by 2028, and production of V12-powered models would cease by the end of 2030.

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Mr Brownridge said the decision was “right at the time” but noted the “prediction was based on a different set of circumstances”. Most notably the “legislation [regarding carbon emissions] has changed”.

At the end of 2025 the European Union scrapped its effective ban on new cars with petrol or diesel engines from 2035. In its place the EU will mandate a fleet-wide CO2 emission target for 2035 that’s 90 per cent decrease in emissions compared with 2021″.

The US has gone further by eliminating the penalty for exceeding its CAFE fuel economy targets. It also ended a US$7500 (A$10,600) federal tax rebate for electric vehicles.

The Rolls-Royce CEO declined to give a zero-emissions target for the brand, and refused to be drawn on whether the company had any further EVs planned.

Last year Rolls-Royce sold 5664 vehicles, with the Spectre — the brand’s only EV — remaining the second most popular model, and accounting for 17.7 per cent of all sales, although its share is down from 33.0 per cent the year before.

“For every client who is unsure whether our Spectre is right for them, there will be one that says ‘I love it’,” Mr Brownridge said. “We can respond to our client demand … we build what is ordered.”

At the beginning of the decade a whole raft of legacy brands declared they would shift to purely electric propulsion. These include Alfa Romeo (2027), Opel/Vauxhall (2028), Bentley (2030) and Volvo (2030).

BMW was much more reluctant to set such a target, and Rolls-Royce was the only brand in the BMW Group to make such a pledge.

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