Rolls-Royce cars will go fully electric by 2030, the luxury UK brand announced on Wednesday, when it also provided a sneak preview of the Spectre sedan, the first in its all-electric range.
Rolls-Royce chief Torsten Muller-Otvos said the new model will arrive at the end of 2023.
“With this new product, we set out our credentials for the full electrification of our entire product portfolio by 2030,” he said.
“By then, Rolls-Royce will no longer be in the business of producing or selling any internal combustion engine products.”
He described the news as the most important decision in the history of the brand since Charles Rolls and Henry Royce agreed on May 4, 1904 to build cars together.
Rolls-Royce makes U-turn on V12 engine
Rolls-Royce since inception has been in the vanguard of powerful V12 engine technology and quiet, smooth excellence for the world’s wealthiest and most discerning customers.
Many of its most revered models, from the early Rolls-Royce Phantoms to the modern Cullinan, employed the company’s famous 12-cylinder combustion engine technology.
As recently as 2019, Mr Muller-Otvos said he would keep the V12 around “as long as possible”.
While the Spectre will be the first fully formed production electric car from Rolls-Royce, the brand previously experimented with a fully operational all-electric Phantom called the 102EX in 2011. An electric 103EX prototype followed in 2016.
Rolls-Royce currently offers no hybrid vehicles in its fleet, which includes the Phantom sedan, Cullinan SUV, Ghost sedan, Wraith coupe, and Dawn convertible.
Rolls-Royce's electric past
The electric motor was a familiar concept even for Rolls-Royce's founders: Henry Royce’s first venture created dynamos, electric crane motors, and bayonet-style light bulb fitting.
In 1900, Charles Rolls drove an electric car, known as the Columbia, and declared it “ideal”, according to Rolls-Royce records.
But with astonishing prescience Royce noted that the electric car would not become prevalent until a charging network could be established. Many would argue that time has still not arrived.
Further details of the Spectre are scarce, including pricing, although it is rumoured that it will share motors with parent company's BMW’s i7
Meanwhile, cross-country rival Bentley announced that it will launch a fully electric vehicle by 2025. Bentley has been selling hybrid vehicles for years.
World's 10 most expensive cars - in pictures
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
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Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
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Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
WORLD RECORD FEES FOR GOALKEEPERS
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3) Ederson, Benfica to Manchester City (£35m)
4) Gianluigi Buffon, Parma to Juventus (£33m)
5) Angelo Peruzzi, Inter Milan to Lazio (£15.7m
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
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