Why premium auto brands are leading the EV charge

Premium car-makers that trade on emotional appeal face arguably the biggest challenge of their existence: how to go electric without losing their competitive edge or alienating their core audience.

There’s no alternative as the CO2 noose is getting ever tighter, not just thanks to tightening emissions regulations like Australia’s 2025 New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, but in the face of calls for the cessation of sales of petrol and diesel cars by as early as 2035 in Europe, the UK, Canada, California and even some Australian states and territories.

The transition to electrification is arguably less of a challenge for brands that churn out affordable mainstream cars than it is for their upmarket counterparts.

After all, the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bentley and Maserati depend largely on sonorous V6, V8, V10 or V12 combustion engines to infuse their vehicles with an inimitable charisma.

And yet many of the auto brands that have put an end date in producing combustion vehicles are luxury and performance car-makers.

So, how do these exalted marques dispense with engines that squash fuel and air to create an almighty bang – and a unique soundtrack in the process – in favour of near-silent electric motors that are all but indistinguishable from one another?

Ferrari chief executive Benedetto Vigna admits there’s no way around electrification, but he argues this need not be a bad thing.

“Electrification is a must as we need to reduce emissions, but we can also use this to further enhance performance,” he says.

“Contrary to the general notion, electric motors are not silent; each has its own signature.”

The Prancing Horse says it’s on track to launch its first EV in the last quarter of 2025, and Vigna promises it will remain true to the brand’s core DNA.

“The Ferrari motor will speak the language of the car,” Vigna boasts. “We will develop our own core components, so the first full-electric Ferrari will still be a Ferrari, leveraging the extensive know-how of our Formula 1 team.”

Vigna’s EV-embracing tone is echoed by former Rolls-Royce chief executive Torsten Müller-Ötvös, who said the company’s fully-electrified Spectre bespoke EV was built in response to demand from customers that, in many cases, already own an electric car from another manufacturer.

“The guiding light is Rolls-Royce first, electric second. That’s why we also decided to go with classical Rolls-Royce proportions. It needs to look like a Rolls-Royce: monolithic, great stature, it carries proudly the pantheon grille,” Müller-Ötvos told Car magazine last year.

“It drives like a Rolls-Royce, it accelerates like a Rolls-Royce, it wafts like a Rolls-Royce, it carries lovely features like starlight headlining, it has all the same materials – while being electric.

“We also made the decision that this car you could not get electric and combustion. The Spectre is only electric. All future Rolls-Royces from 2030 will be only electric, while maintaining what Rolls-Royce stands for. This should be the most dynamic RR ever in history. And it is.”

Poignantly, Muller-Ötvös points out that Rolls-Royce’s USP is that its cars are smooth, quiet and torquey – characteristics that are easy to achieve with electric motors – making the transition to electrification easier than for brands such as Lamborghini and Ferrari, which rely largely on the sound and visceral appeal of a high-revving, finely-tuned combustion engine.

Lamborghini recently rolled out its first series-production plug-in-hybrid model – the Revuelto hypercar – but in 2028 it will take the next step with the launch of the fully electrified Lanzador, a rakish crossover with a coupe-esque roofline.

Although raucous combustion engines have been a Lamborghini trademark since the Raging Bull’s 1963 inception, the brand’s chief technical officer, Rouven Mohr, says the upcoming Lanzador EV will not be a watered-down offering devoid of charisma.

“We will not do mellow,” he told Car and Driver. “There are a lot of opportunities that you get from the electric drivetrain that are not possible with a combustion car. And at the moment no one is using them the way we plan to.

“There are already fast electric cars out there. This is easy to do. There are also electric cars that try to imitate combustion with artificial gear-shifting points and so on.

“We believe that this feedback in some of the electric cars at the moment gives you the feeling you’re a sitting in a PlayStation, because you miss a little movement from your inputs. But you have to be credible, and it has to feel natural. What I don’t like at the end of the day is the feeling that you drive a fake. Just a fast box.

“I like the statement that the most ‘rowdy’ EV has to be a Lamborghini. At the end of the day, the difference will be the control algorithm, how you control the dynamic systems in the car to create an emotional connection. We will develop, in-house, our own functionalities. It will be completely different from what you see at the moment on the electric market.”

Like its Ferrari and Lamborghini compatriots, Maserati is a storied brand with a unique Italian sense of style and verve.

What’s more, each car wearing the trident logo invariably has an evocative exhaust note, so the transition to electrification obviously needs to be skilfully navigated by the Modenese marque.

Maserati chief commercial officer Bernard Loire says there’s no cause for concern, telling Car magazine, “We believe we can combine Maserati-ness – that experience – with an electric motor.

“At this moment, because we are in a transition period, we are offering both technologies. We will give the choice with a Grecale, a combustion engine or electric. Same with the GranTurismo. Future product will be launching with electric powertrains.

“The luxury experience and the performance experience, we have to deliver it, because that’s Maserati. The design must be timeless Italian design because that’s Maserati. An e-motor provides fantastic acceleration. We have our own sound signature.”

Loire suggests he doesn’t see major barriers to still providing the full Maserati experience, particularly as the brand’s new audience – primarily the younger generation – likes luxury, but not necessarily because it is a V8 or a V6.

“Combining the newest technology, the newest in infotainment for instance, with the design and the luxury of a Maserati, will probably open new doors,” he adds.

We’ll find out soon, when Maserati rolls out Folgore electric versions of its new Grecale, MC20, Quattroporte, GranTurismo and GranCabrio.

Century-old Bentley also has a full-electric future chalked out, according to board member and head of research and development Matthias Rabe.

“The future of Bentley will be fully electric,” he says. “We are working not just on one car, but a whole family.

“By 2025, we will have our first full-electric car; by 2026 all our cars will be plug-in hybrid or full electric; and by 2030, Bentley’s line-up will be entirely electric, with combustion engines banished entirely.”

“Our strong message in our ‘Beyond 100’ strategy is to go full electric by the end of the decade. To do that, our machines not only have to be fascinating cars, but they must make people say: ‘Oh, that’s really a Bentley. That’s really a cool car.’”

“Our EVs will be an outstanding combination of the classical strengths of Bentley, such as expert craftsmanship and materials, and building in sustainability and a more digital approach.”

One example of Bentley’s craftsmanship and use of unique materials is its incorporation in the cabin of 5000-year-old ‘Riverwood’ that was decomposing in lakes and rivers in East Anglia in England.

“We’ve been able to extract it, revitalise and polish it to turn it into a veneer with a unique finish,” said outgoing Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark.

“So, you’ve got a 5000-year-old veneer that looks amazing. What this means is that the future of luxury can be just as inspirational, even more so than in the past in terms of materials, colours and trim. We just have to make sure we do it in a sustainable way.”

Hallmark says this focus applies not only to cars, but also the processes that go into making them. “Our production at Crewe is already CO2-neutral, by taking energy from the solar farm down the road and by buying green energy for whatever else we need.”

On the flip-side, several brands have cut back their EV production targets due to lacklustre customer demand for vehicles with a plug.

Among them are Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Aston Martin, which has delayed its first EV from 2025 to 2027 and says it will now sell combustion cars beyond 2030.

“High interest rates, moderate oil prices, and range anxiety all have conspired against EV demand. The enthusiasm of early adopters of EVs wasn’t representative of the longer-term and broader demand for these vehicles,” Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management, told Reuters.

Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius warns that price parity between EVs and combustion-powered cars is still “many years away”, and many consumers remain deterred by inadequate recharging infrastructure, as well as the fact that at least 30 minutes is required for an 80 per cent recharge (and that’s at a fast-charging facility).

There are also question marks about the true environmental friendliness of EVs. While it’s true that these vehicles emit no CO2 while driving, their benefit is reduced if the electricity used to recharge them is produced by a coal-fired powerplant.

In addition, manufacturing an EV has a higher carbon footprint than producing a conventional car, and there’s an environmental cost to mining the lithium, cobalt and nickel that goes into their batteries.

Depending on how you calculate it and the power mix of the country you’re in, you need to drive about 145,000km before you reach the break-even point in terms of lifecycle CO2 emissions vis-à-vis an equivalent combustion-powered car. That takes almost a decade at an average of 15,000k a year.

In other words, EVs may not be the ecological panacea they’re being made out to be by law-makers and environmental groups.

Either way, the electrification gauntlet has been thrown down to car-makers by governments and even the premium marques aren’t exempt.

They may not have wanted to go down this path, but they’re embracing the challenge just the same.

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