The next car from Rolls-Royce will be a sport utility vehicle.
The luxury car maker, owned by BMW, yesterday said in a thinly-veiled statement released globally that it would “build a new Rolls-Royce model that will cross all terrain and be Effortless...Everywhere”.
“I wouldn’t call it an SUV as Rolls-Royce is neither sport nor utility,” said Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes, the chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motors.
But analysts, including Pierluigi Bellini, a sales analyst at IHS Automotive, said that the car will possibly be a crossover vehicle similar to an SUV, one of the fastest-growing car segments overall.
“Rolls-Royce’s statement that it will be a ‘high-bodied car, with an all-new aluminium architecture’ gives it away,” said Mr Bellini. “It won’t be a hardcore SUV, but a more refined crossover.”
The IHS analyst expects the new car to be predominantly targeted at audiences in North America, China, its home market of the UK, India and the Middle East.
There was no information from the company on a launch date, pricing or even a sketch of the car.
“Given that it will be a bespoke aluminium-based vehicle, it will take time to develop. We can expect the launch some time in 2018,” he said.
On pricing, Mr Bellini expects it to be in the range of £200,000 (Dh1.13 million).
Rolls-Royce is not the first from the luxury segment to venture into SUVs. Plans for such models have previously been announced by Bentley Lamborghini, Aston Martin and Jaguar.
Jaguar is expected to be first out of the blocks with its F-SUV launch in 2016, followed by a smaller version in 2018.
Bentley’s Bentayga SUV is also due in 2016, while Lambhorghini’s proposed SUV is expected in 2018.
“Only Aston Martin’s model will be delayed and may come out in 2020. They cannot finance it right now, but they will do it,” said Mr Bellini.
Last year Abu Dhabi Motors was the top-performing Rolls-Royce dealership in the world, where sales grew 13 per cent. Globally, the car maker delivered 4,063 units, up 12 per cent from a year earlier and an all-time high.
siyer@thenational.ae
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