Reaction to Spectre gives Rolls-Royce confidence to invest in more EVs
Firm readies Sussex site to build more bespoke models – and a new electric car to join the Spectre
Rolls-Royce will invest more than £300 million in an extension of its Goodwood factory in West Sussex, which will prepare it to ramp up its highly profitable customisation programmes and launch more electric models – the second of which will arrive this year.
The largest investment in the firm’s UK headquarters since it opened 22 years ago is described as “the next step in the company’s commitment to creating value for clients by handcrafting the most complex, personal and valuable luxury goods while creating an unparalleled client experience”.
Primarily, it will enable the firm to offer more personalisation options for each car it builds. Rolls-Royce offers two levels of personalisation: Bespoke, which allows buyers of the Spectre, Phantom, Ghost and Cullinan almost total free reign over the colours and materials used throughout their car; and Coachbuild, which creates unique and ultra-exclusive standalone models like the Sweptail, Boat Tail and Droptail.
The company hailed 2024 as a record year for its customisation offerings, claiming that the value of Bespoke content in each car increased by 10% year on year.
The long-wheelbase Phantom Extended was the most extensively customised car last year, with the Spectre EV in second. Buyers from the Middle East added the most Bespoke content to their cars.
Rolls-Royce is now adapting its production line to suit growing demand for Bespoke offerings, although it doesn’t aim to increase production beyond today’s daily output. CEO Chris Brownridge told Autocar: “Now we’re making 25 to 26 cars a day, so the current facility is at capacity.
“What we’re not trying to do with this extension is create more capacity for volume, because this is more about space for the projects that we’re seeing growing demand for: more bespoke and more coachbuilt motor cars, and these projects need space because they take time.”
The investment will also go towards preparing Goodwood for increased production of EVs, Rolls-Royce said, without giving any more details on exactly what this work entails. Brownridge, though, confirmed that “there will be another electric Rolls-Royce later this year”, confirming that the Spectre will soon be joined on the Goodwood production line by another EV.
He offered no further details on what this new model will look like, nor when it will be revealed, but said the firm has been encouraged by reaction to the Spectre. “What we’ve seen is that it delivers a remarkable Rolls-Royce experience in the silent drive, the waftability, the ease of driving. Feedback from our clients has been overwhelmingly positive about it, and so what that has told us very clearly is that as the world moves to electrification, we can make remarkable Rolls Royces.”
Rolls-Royce has previously outlined a plan to phase out combustion models by 2030, and Brownridge says the company can stick to that goal even as other premium car manufacturers slow their transition plans in light of waning demand for EVs.
“Trends which affect the auto sector don’t necessarily inform demand for Rolls-Royce”, he said, touting the Goodwood firm as primarily a purveyor of luxury goods rather than a pure automotive outfit. “The plans that we’ve got make complete sense to our clients, and to us,” he added.
Importantly, Brownridge said, there remains no plan to use hybrid powertrains as a transitional technology from combustion engines to pure-EV power, as Aston Martin and Bentley are doing, for example.
“In terms of alternative drivetrains, Rolls-Royce has a mantra, which is to strive for perfection. What we won’t do is compromise. So today, the Spectre delivers a remarkable driving experience, as do our V12 [cars]. We won’t offer anything in between.”
Source: Autocar
