The company explains its clients rarely demand more fuel-efficient cars but it needs to adopt cleaner powerplants in order to comply with looming emissions regulations on both sides of the Atlantic.
Rolls-Royce took its first step towards electric mobility in 2011 when it built an all-electric version of the Phantom sedan dubbed 102EX (pictured) and showed it to 100 potential customers around the world. The project was canned when Rolls’ target audience unanimously decided it was unwilling to accept the long charging time and the limited range associated with battery-powered cars.
Rolls execs believe a plug-in hybrid drivetrain is the best way to lower gas mileage while living up to its clients’ altitudinous expectations.
“A Rolls-Royce cannot come with any kind of compromise, and both the recharging times and the range were not acceptable for our buyers – but with hybrid technology that is no longer a problem,” explained CEO Torsten Müller-Otvos.
Rolls-Royce has not revealed any technical details about its upcoming plug-in hybrid system but it hints the bulk of the components will be sourced from the BMW parts bin in order to save money on research and development.
“We are now a completely self-sustaining business, but technology like [a plug-in hybrid drivetrain] is so expensive to develop that without BMW, Rolls-Royce would probably not have survived,” added the CEO.
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