Is Rolls-Royce winning over Tesla owners?


By Rakhi Anand

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Tesla owners are frantically placing preorders for Spectre, the first all-electric car introduced by Rolls-Royce.

A trend that has left even the Rolls-Royce executives surprised is the pre-orders placed by Tesla owners for Spectre. First in a series of EVs, it is a new addition to the Rolls Royce lineup, that costs more than $400,000. The customers who have booked first have been assured of delivery by the end of 2023.

The carmaker has claimed that its gasoline-powered models will be phased out of the lineup and replaced entirely with EVs by 2030.

The 118-year-old British automaker plans to start the production of Spectre, a high-end model with a seating capacity of four, soon. Thousands of units have been booked in pre-orders. The booking rate is so high that some customers will have to wait till 2025 to get a slot in the production list.

Apart from Spectre, Rolls-Royce has also received a massive demand for its Cullinan SUV, where the waiting period for the customers to get the delivery is up to 14 months.

New clients have been attracted by the upscale, performance-driven models. The introduction of Black Badge, has attracted many buyers and accelerated the sales astronomically. Last year,  Rolls-Royce delivered a record 6,021 vehicles which is 8% more than the sales in 2021. The owners are ready to pay more than $500,000 on an  average for their Rolls-Royce and the demand for bespoke commissions is growing exponentially.

Martin Fritsches, the president and CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars America, applauded the young buyers for their faith in the brand. He called the youth a driving force behind the phenomenal success of the brand, as the sales reach historical heights. In the current scenario, The average customer is 42 years old, while eight years ago the average customer was 50 years old.

Last summer in Goodwood, England, the company unveiled a prototype of Spectre to customers and the executives were stunned by the overwhelming response for the model.  It was a mind-blowing response from the customers who were ready to wait for more than a year for the delivery of the product. The President said that managing expectations of the customers had become a challenge for the company with people constantly texting him, “Where is my Spectre? When am I getting it?"

In particular, the Tesla owners are finally adding a Rolls-Royce to their collection of cars.

In 2021, Rolls-Royce, made an announcement that it would end production of its internal combustion conveyances. It has claimed that Rolls Royce will become an electric vehicle company by the end of 2030.

Spectre, which is the first Rolls Royce electric car can travel an estimated 260 miles on a full charge. It sprints from zero to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds and generates 577 horsepower.

The 34-year-old first baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Brandon Belt brought home his first Rolls two years ago. He also owns a Cullinan SUV, Which he believes stands apart from the rest.

Two-time World Series champion, told ABC News, "Cullinan is the pinnacle of coolness, luxury, comfort and style. No other vehicle can match all the qualities of this car."

Jonathan Klinger, vice president of car culture at Hagerty has claimed that more than half of Rolls-Royce cars produced between 2015 and 2022 are sold to Generation X customers. He said that the younger buyers are buying Rolls-Royce cars in greater quantities and the success of the brand can be attributed to them.

He said that The Cullinan helped the company to put aside the label of being unapologetically conservative luxury. He further added that the Spectre will attract the well-to-do techies and also the people willing to adopt electric vehicles. He said that the younger population is fascinated by EV.

Joe Wierda, general manager of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Orlando revealed clients have made huge deposits for a Spectre. More preorders for Spectre have been received than any other Rolls-Royce vehicle in the last decade. He told ABC news that it was a new territory for Rolls Royce and the design is so attractive that it has brought many customers on board.

Many clients who are in their early 30s have bought the car as it was the best car in the market, he said. A Rolls Royce shows that they are doing well in life, he explained.

One of Wierda's regular clients, Sean Sleiman, 37, owns four Rolls-Royces with his business partner and two Spectres that they have already booked are scheduled to arrive in January.

Sleiman told ABC News that it is one of the coolest cars  and takes the Rolls-Royce brand up to the next level. 

Sleiman, who already owns a Tesla Model X Plaid, keeps moving between Orlando and Miami, covering a distance of 235 miles on a regular basis. And so charging his Spectre on the go can be challenging.

Paul Dumont, general manager of Manhattan Motorcars, said that there is such a craze for the car that the clients are ready to wait for more than a year for the product. The Spectre being the first electric Rolls-Royce has created a lot of buzz, he told ABC News.

Cullinan is the best selling model of Rolls Royce globally and the U.S. is considered to be the largest market for the brand.

Dumont claims that Rolls-Royce is about refinement and that is what sets it apart from the rest. The craftsmanship is unbelievable and the brand to some extent is peerless, he said.

Through this article we have discussed how Rolls-Royce is winning over Tesla owners and young customers. Tesla owners are frantically placing preorders for Spectre, the first all-electric car introduced by Rolls-Royce that costs more than $400,000. The unique features of the upscale car have attracted the customers from all over, who are ready to wait for more than a year to get a slot in the production list of the car. Rolls-Royce, a brand known for its refinement, would soon end production of  internal combustion conveyances. It will turn into an electric vehicle company by the end of 2030 and that is going to be a major transformation for the brand. To find out more about our latest stories, keep checking our website www.carbike360.com. In case of any query, feel free to contact us.