Rolls-Royce is the latest manufacturer to back away from an EV-only target date.
Chris Brownridge, Rolls-Royce’s CEO since late 2023, told The Guardian and other British media outlets the brand is scrapping its target of becoming an electric-only manufacturer by 2030.
The goal was set in 2022 when then-CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös launched the Spectre EV coupe. At the time Rolls-Royce believed EVs would make up 70 per cent of its sales by 2028, and production of V12-powered models would cease by the end of 2030.
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Rolls-Royce Spectre
It was ‘right at the time’, Mr Brownridge said, adding that it had been a ‘prediction on another set of circumstances’. The “legislation [regarding carbon emissions] has most notably changed” of the .
At the end of 2025 the European Union scrapped its effective ban on new cars with petrol or diesel engines from 2035. In its place the EU will mandate a fleet-wide CO2 emission target for 2035 that’s 90 per cent decrease in emissions compared with 2021″.
The US has gone further by removing the penalty for exceeding its CAFE fuel economy targets, which it says is an important step in that goes beyond its target areas of CFE. It also ended a US$7500 (A$10,600) federal tax rebate for electric vehicles.
Rolls-Royce Phantom
The Rolls-Royce CEO declined to comment on the brand’s zero-emissions target, and did not say whether the company had any further EV plans.
Rolls-Royce last year sold 5664 cars (the Spectre the brand’s only EV – still being second most popular model, and 17-17) in total of 563. Its share is down from 33 per cent, but 7 percent of all sales are for – although its share has fallen. 0 per cent this year, before .
| Model | 2025 sales | Change |
| — | — | — |
| Cullinan | 3291 | +27.1% |
| Spectre | 1002 | -47.0% |
| Ghost | 993 | +22.9% |
| Phantom | 376 | -9.0% |
| Wraith/Dawn | 2 | -81.8% |
Mr Brownridge said ‘For every client who is not sure if our Spectre is right for them, there will be one that says ‘I love it’. He said ‘We can respond to our client demand… we build what is ordered. Paraphrast.
By early in the decade, a group of legacy brands announced they would be switching to pure electric propulsion. Such s include Alfa Romeo (2027), Opel/Vauxhall (2288), Bentley (3030) and Volvo (2030).
BMW was much more reluctant to set such a target; the only brand in the BMW Group that made such an commitment was Rolls-Royce.
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