When you think of ultra-luxury brands, what comes to mind? Is it the ultimate exterior interior, or those large displacement engines that consume 20 fuels? Global emissions regulations are becoming more stringent, and the living space for brands that stick to fuel engines is getting smaller and smaller. For these "high-displacement brands", electrification seems to be their only way out.
So, how do these ultra-luxury brands see the current wave of electrification? Today we will take stock of the electrification plans of ultra-luxury brands and see how aggressive they are.
Bentley: Discontinued sales of fuel vehicles in 2026
In 2020, Bentley launched the "Beyond 100" brand strategy. According to Bentley's official plan, it will transform from a 12-cylinder engine brand with the world's largest to an all-electric brand within 10 years. In the future, Bentley will invest £2.5 billion in sustainability to help the brand achieve its full electrification and carbon neutrality goals.
According to related sources, Bentley will launch a PHEV version of bentley flying spurs in 2022. In 2023, each Bentley model will launch a PHEV version, which will account for more than 20% of Bentley's total sales.
Bentley's first pure electric model will be officially launched in 2025, and this new pure electric vehicle will be manufactured and produced in the Crewe plant in the UK. At that time, the historic global factory will also introduce more intelligent equipment, and the solar panels in the factory will be further increased, thereby reducing the impact on the environment.
Bentley promised that after the launch of the first pure electric vehicle in 2025, it will gradually stop selling fuel vehicles in 2026, and the next stage will be all plug-in hybrid and pure electric products. In 2030, Bentley will only launch pure electric models, officially transforming into a pure electric ultra-luxury brand.
Rolls-Royce: Transition to pure electric in 2030
As a legend of ultra-luxury brands, Rolls-Royce is also about to fully electrify the brand in 2030. At that time, Rolls-Royce's iconic V12 engine will be officially retired, replaced by a higher power and more torque electric motor.
According to the news released by overseas media, the first pure electric vehicle model of the Rolls-Royce brand- The Shining will be launched in 2024, which will mark Rolls-Royce entering a new era of electrification. In 2030, all models including Mirage, Gersté and Cullinan will be replaced by pure electric models.
Although the cost of developing a pure electric vehicle model is quite high, Rolls-Royce still claims that the price of pure electric vehicles will be comparable to that of current fuel vehicles in the future. Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Otvos said Rolls-Royce's pricing strategy was never based on cost, but rather "market" and "quality". Against this backdrop, the upcoming Shining will be priced according to its segment, and eventually or similar to the Phantom.
He also said that rolls-royce's electrification process is not only because of the upcoming ban issued by the British government in 2030, but also because rolls-royce brand users are also "actively embracing electrification". "Many of our customers own not only Rolls-Royce, but also many electric vehicles, whether teslas, BMW or other models, which means they are very familiar with pure electric vehicles."
While the technical details of the Shining have not yet been announced, we can already see that it is already being tested on the road. It has been confirmed that all Rolls-Royce electric vehicles will be built on Rolls-Royce's "luxury architecture", and the current models such as Mirage, Cullinan and Gurst are built on this platform, and are compatible with pure electric products when they were first developed. I believe that in the near future, we will see the birth of the first pure electric model of the Rolls-Royce brand.
Porsche: I'm the most active, but I stick to the internal combustion engine
Porsche's electrification is arguably the earliest of the ultra-luxury brands. As early as 2015, Porsche launched the Mission E electric coupe, which also became the porsche Taycan in the future. Of course, this car also continues the powerful performance of Porsche: 800V platform, 762 horsepower, 2.8 seconds of zero hundred acceleration time...
In addition to the Taycan and its spin-off, the Taycan Cross Turismo, Porsche is also planning other all-electric models, and the closest to us is the non-pure electric Macan. Not long ago, Porsche officially opened the road test of pure electric Macan, the car is based on the PPE platform, and the Audi A6 e-tron is also based on this platform. Judging from the exposed spy photos, the pure electric Macan will adopt a Taycan-like design, and the split headlights and four-point daytime running lights can see the DNA of Porsche. According to Porsche's product positioning, the pure electric Macan is still a model in the market segment that emphasizes sportiness and driving experience, while taking into account the practicality of the family.
Over the next five years, Porsche will invest €15 billion in electrification, digital transformation and sustainability. In terms of power technology, Porsche will focus on three technologies, one is to continue to optimize the internal combustion engine technology, the second is plug-in hybrid technology, and the third is pure electric technology to cope with different needs in the market. Porsche said that in 2025, about half of Porsche's models will use new energy technology. The next generation of the 718 will officially become a pure electric sports car, and the next generation of 911 will also join the plug-in hybrid.
The wheels of history are rolling forward, and the automotive industry has also carried out a "big change" that has not been encountered in a century. For these ultra-luxury brands, if they do not move in the direction of electrification and stick to their own complacency, they will only be eliminated by the market. Although pure electric vehicles also have strong performance and stimulating accelerated sensory experiences, the manic sound of fuel vehicles can never be simulated by pure electric vehicles. If you are holding coins in the waiting stage, don't hesitate, maybe we will never see these large-displacement fuel vehicles again!