Who Makes Rolls-Royce Cars?

by Leo Wilkinson

Rolls-Royce is a British carmaker that’s regarded as one of the world’s most famous luxury brands. Founded in 1906 and based in England, the company has been owned by BMW since 2003.

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Who Makes Rolls-Royce Cars?

There are luxury car brands and then there’s Rolls-Royce. Founded in 1904 in Manchester, England, by Charles Rolls and Henry Royce, Rolls-Royce has been making top-of-the-line cars since 1906. The company has seen a few twists and turns since then, including diversifying into airplane engines, the acquisition of Bentley in 1931 and, in the 1970s, a period of public ownership. Engineering company Vickers bought the company in 1980 and sold it in the late 1990s to the Volkswagen Group (VAG), but the deal was complicated. While VAG acquired Bentley and the Crewe factory, BMW subsequently bought the rights to the Rolls-Royce brand. As a result, since 2003 Rolls-Royce Motor Cars (to give it its full name) has been wholly owned by BMW, with its headquarters at a new site in Sussex, England.

What Sort of Vehicles Does Rolls-Royce Make?

Rolls-Royce makes high-end luxury cars. Large, elegant and packed with features, its current models also benefit from having access to BMW’s cutting-edge technology. And although it still produces the sedan models with powerful gas engines that it’s famous for, the Rolls-Royce range now includes an SUV and a pure-electric model.

In ascending order of price, the current Rolls-Royce range kicks off with the Ghost sedan, available in either standard or extended-wheelbase form. Next up is the Cullinan SUV, then there’s the Spectre coupe. Topping the lineup is the Phantom sedan, again available in either standard or extended-wheelbase form. While the Ghost, Cullinan and Phantom are powered by a 6.75-liter V12 gas engine, the Spectre is an EV, with two electric motors giving a 577-horsepower output.

The Spectre effectively replaced Rolls-Royce’s previous coupe model, the Wraith, which was sold new between 2014 and 2023. A convertible version called the Rolls-Royce Dawn was sold new between 2015 and 2023. Rolls-Royce hasn’t confirmed whether it will produce a convertible version of the Spectre, but it seems likely. The brand has said, however, that it won’t produce any hybrid cars, and that the next generation of its current gas models will be EV-only.

by Leo Wilkinson

Leo is a writer and editor specialising in the automotive sector. He has held senior roles at What Car?, MSN Cars, The Telegraph and Cazoo, and since gone on to write for brands including Auto Trader and CarGurus. Over the past twenty-plus years he has driven and reviewed hundreds of cars, from budget-priced runarounds to luxury SUVs.

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