Rolls-Royce ‘considering options’ on electric car

An electric Rolls-Royce car remains a possibility, the company’s boss suggested yesterday.

But it would be “wrong for the brand and wrong for our customers” to make a decision without exploring all options, added Rolls-Royce Motor Cars chief executive officer Torsten Muller-Otvos. There has been talk over the last two years of a possible electric Rolls and at one point it seemed possible that such a vehicle could be produced by the end of the 2010.

Speaking to the BBC yesterday, Mr Muller-Otvos said all options for alternatively-fuelled vehicles were being considered and that nothing was ruled out.

He went on: “We are not going to make any rash decisions. It would be wrong for the brand and wrong for our customers if we were to take a decision without fully exploring all options.”

He was speaking as Rolls-Royce announced record annual car sales in 2010 – up 171 per cent on 2009 and more than double the previous record set in 2008.

All regions demonstrated significant sales growth, with particularly strong results seen in Asia Pacific, the US and the Middle East. The US remained the biggest single market for Rolls-Royce in 2010, followed by China and the UK.