Rolls-Royce unveils its first fully electric vehicle

Rolls-Royce Motors Cars announced today, in a historic moment, that the company is nearing the testing phase of its first fully electric vehicle on public roads. In celebration of this exceptional milestone, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motors Cars, commented:

This day marks the most significant moment in Rolls-Royce Motors Cars’ history since May 4, 1904—when the two founding visionaries, Charles Rolls and Sir Henry Royce, met for the first time and agreed to create the finest car in the world.

These pioneering individuals harnessed the latest technologies of their time and applied their exceptional engineering creativity to transform outdated internal combustion engine vehicles—once noisy, uncomfortable, and primitive—into luxurious automobiles setting a new benchmark of excellence.

The cars they created delivered an unparalleled luxury experience to the world, securing a leading position that Rolls-Royce continues to hold today without question. The brand has remained committed to advancing internal combustion engines for over a century.

Now, after 117 years, I am proud and honored to announce that Rolls-Royce is approaching the launch of a groundbreaking road test program for a remarkable new vehicle that will revolutionize the global electric automotive landscape and represent the brand’s first true luxury electric product. This new offering will not be a prototype—it will be a production-ready vehicle tested openly before the public, with our customers set to receive their first deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2023.

In 2017, we launched the Phantom, introducing the brand’s unique aluminum architecture: a flexible, scalable aluminum spaceframe designed to support all future Rolls-Royce models. This exclusive technology, developed by Rolls-Royce Motors Cars specifically for the brand, serves as the foundation not only for current internal combustion engine variants like the Cullinan and Ghost, but also for future models operating under entirely different powertrain systems.

The new Rolls-Royce vehicle embodies the founder’s original vision and brings to life the promise we made to our customers—to usher in a new chapter of our distinguished heritage. For this reason, we have chosen a completely new name for this exceptional model. We sought a bold and powerful name worthy of our legacy, echoing the iconic names that have defined us throughout the past century, such as Phantom, Ghost, and Dawn.

This name captures a mystical realm born from imagination, from which our creations emerge. We’ve reserved this name for this precise moment: Spectre.

The name perfectly aligns with the new Rolls-Royce product we unveil today—a vehicle whose presence is felt before it vanishes into a world accessible only to a select few. As a purely British brand, we have adopted the British spelling, Spectre, while preserving its universal meaning.

With this new model, we commit to transitioning all our vehicle lines to full electrification by 2030. At that point, Rolls-Royce will cease manufacturing or selling any products powered by internal combustion engines.

Spectre is a living embodiment of Charles Rolls’ vision. And here, the promise I made on behalf of Rolls-Royce Motors Cars becomes reality. Today, we make an extraordinary commitment. I am proud to continue guiding the world’s most accomplished individuals toward a brilliant future, riding in our electric vehicles.