British luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce previously unveiled its first all-electric Spectre, with a range of more than 500 kilometers and an estimated range of $327,750 to $458,000 (currently about RMB 2.357 to 3.293 million).
However, Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös recently told the media that the company is considering a full shift to hydrogen fuel cells in the future, provided the technology is mature enough for large-scale commercialization, given Rolls-Royce’s brand positioning and customer expectations.
When asked by AutoCar, Toston said that although companies such as Toyota have developed hydrogen-burning engines, and Rolls-Royce’s parent company was experimenting with hydrogen combustion technology in the BMW 7 Series at the beginning of the 21st century, Rolls-Royce would not consider using hydrogen-burning engines: “This technology is not the most efficient way to use hydrogen, and if hydrogen is to be used in the future, it will must be through the fuel cell. A fuel cell is no different to a normal battery, it’s just a different way of getting energy.”
Toston said bluntly, “When we think the right time comes, Rolls-Royce will certainly pursue more advanced technology and perhaps we will move away from normal batteries and move fully into the fuel cell sector.”
However, Toston also acknowledged that the difficulty of obtaining hydrogen in the average home is a current technical hurdle. In contrast, most Spectre users already own more than one electric car, and they are able to charge easily at the office or at home via a charging post, making existing pure electric cars more advantageous to them.
For this reason, Rolls-Royce is “closely monitoring” the development of hydrogen refueling infrastructure to assess the possibility of hydrogen fuel cells.
The Rolls-Royce Spectre was officially unveiled at the Shanghai Motor Show in April this year and is expected to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2023 with a domestic pre-pricing of RMB 5.75 million.
