Photo: Rolls-Royce
A part of you may remember Rolls-Royce’s electric car concept (pictured above) from a few years ago. The 102EX, an electrified version of the Phantom, never caught on, but now it seems the company is on its way to approaching the low emission matter by offering us hybrids.
Rolls-Royce CEO, Torsten Müller-Otvos, used the Geneva Motor Show to explain that Goodwood is preparing to offer us a hybrid model in a maximum of three years from now. The CEO made a reasonable point, saying that the demand comes not from their customers, but rather from emission regulations.
The British company was obviously aware of such issues in the past and their attempt to offer an elctric vehicle would’ve offer a very efficient solution as far as emission reduction was concerned. Nonetheless, customers rejected the proposal upon being offered a presentation of the car.
The reason? As with any current all-electric vehicle, the range was limited, while the charging time requirements could not be neglected. Of course, such issues would be discarded with hybrid technology.
Torsten Müller-Otvos went on to explain that while Rolls-Royce is currently “a self-sustaining” business, developments such as hybrid powertrains are extremely costly, which means that the luxury carmaker will have to turn to its parent, BMW, for the technology.
Given the serious requirements of a Rolls-Royce customers, the obvious solution is a plug-in hybrid system, a solution that’s much more capable compared to standard hybrids.
BMW’s engineers are currently working on a plug-in hybrid powertrain comprising of a turbocharged four-cylinder engine and an electric motor. Nevertheless, such a solution isn’t likely to meet the sheer output necessities of a Rolls-Royce. A system with considerably more oomph, on the other hand, could be too expensive for BMW models, which means that we expect the Germas to collaborate with the Brits for what will most likely be a bespoke Rolls-Royce petrol-electric marriage.
Rolls-Royce needs to do some research of its own, as the hybrid system will add some serious weight to their cars, which are not exactly light at the moment.
The CEO also discussed the price of a future hybrid, stating that this is not expected tp increase with the technology infusion, as customers would not like to be charged for a change they did not request.
We'll take a bit of time to remind you that Rolls-Royce's closest rival, Bentley, has already confirmed that it will offer a hybrid version for all their future models, starting with their SUV.
Via: autoexpress
The British company was obviously aware of such issues in the past and their attempt to offer an elctric vehicle would’ve offer a very efficient solution as far as emission reduction was concerned. Nonetheless, customers rejected the proposal upon being offered a presentation of the car.
The reason? As with any current all-electric vehicle, the range was limited, while the charging time requirements could not be neglected. Of course, such issues would be discarded with hybrid technology.
Torsten Müller-Otvos went on to explain that while Rolls-Royce is currently “a self-sustaining” business, developments such as hybrid powertrains are extremely costly, which means that the luxury carmaker will have to turn to its parent, BMW, for the technology.
Given the serious requirements of a Rolls-Royce customers, the obvious solution is a plug-in hybrid system, a solution that’s much more capable compared to standard hybrids.
BMW’s engineers are currently working on a plug-in hybrid powertrain comprising of a turbocharged four-cylinder engine and an electric motor. Nevertheless, such a solution isn’t likely to meet the sheer output necessities of a Rolls-Royce. A system with considerably more oomph, on the other hand, could be too expensive for BMW models, which means that we expect the Germas to collaborate with the Brits for what will most likely be a bespoke Rolls-Royce petrol-electric marriage.
Rolls-Royce needs to do some research of its own, as the hybrid system will add some serious weight to their cars, which are not exactly light at the moment.
The CEO also discussed the price of a future hybrid, stating that this is not expected tp increase with the technology infusion, as customers would not like to be charged for a change they did not request.
We'll take a bit of time to remind you that Rolls-Royce's closest rival, Bentley, has already confirmed that it will offer a hybrid version for all their future models, starting with their SUV.
Via: autoexpress
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