Rolls-Royce is, quite literally, one of the last automakers to make the step forward into electrification. The company doesn’t do hybrids and, so far, has been rather mute about its intentions to go electric anytime soon. When you serve up $300,000 cars at the entry-level, things are a little different for you, but that doesn’t mean you can avoid change forever. A new report has shed some light on why Rolls-Royce has avoided change so far, what the brand’s take on hybridization is, and just when we’ll finally see it venture into the world of EVs.

Rolls-Royce: You’re Either All Electric or All Gas – There’s No Grey Area

It’s not surprising that a company like Rolls-Royce thinks it can make its own rules, and that’s exactly what this point is all about. There is no middle ground and, therefore, no hybrid Rolls-Royce even being considered – not now and not ever. This goes along the lines of what Muller-Otvos has said before when he said that electric is the future, but only pure electric power. Apparently, there is no customer demand for a Rolls-Royce Hybrid. At the same time, Rolls-Royce executives also claim there’s no demand for electric vehicles either, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a Rolls-Royce EV.

A Rolls-Royce EV Is Coming…..Eventually

While there is, apparently, no demand for a Rolls-Royce EV, the company has no choice but to pay attention to the automotive landscape. With more and more cities are banning or planning to ban fuel-powered vehicles or “going emissions-free,” the company has no choice but to look to move into the future just like everyone else. Trading up the old 6.75-liter engine for a set of electric motors is bound to happen eventually. The company does have an EV in development, but it probably won’t be anytime soon, with the aforementioned report saying it will launch within this decade. It could happen nine years from now and would still be within that very generalized time frame. But why is it that customers don’t want an electric Rolls-Royce?

You Have to Plug It In Yourself? Yuck

This very same report alludes to the fact that Rolls-Royce customers aren’t exactly well-suited to the EV lifestyle. So, in other words, this is a company that believes it and its customers are too good to physically plug in a vehicle – now, if that’s not a first-world problem, I don’t know what is. Either way, it’s eventually going to happen. That old 6.75-liter engine won’t fit the bill forever and, eventually, Rolls-Royce customers will have no choice but to plug in their own vehicles or invest in some kind of wireless charging technology. We’ll just have to see how that one goes.