We sat down with the GM of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Bangkok, Krisda Sawamiphakdi, to talk about the the future of the marque, going electric, and why 2023 is set to be a milestone year for the ultra-luxury brand.
It’s official. Rolls-Royce’s first fully electric car is set to arrive in late 2023. Though this wouldn’t come as new news for the ever-updated Rolls-Royce aficionado, it’s undeniably exciting all the same. Aptly titled the ‘Spectre’, the latest models’ namesake draws from the ephemeral, near-wondrous apparitions that are beyond our world — a fitting title for the next era of Rolls-Royce.
As we get ready for what will inevitably be a new era for the marque, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Krisda Sawamiphakdi, the General Manager of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Bangkok. With over 20 years of experience in capital markets, it has been over 3 years since the British educated Krisda took over the reins at Rolls-Royce Bangkok, where he now helms one of the many business units under the MGC Asia umbrella. Ever-charismatic, amiable, and a true visionary, Krisda shared his views on the future of Rolls-Royce, as well the dawn of the world’s first truly ultra-luxury EV.
Rolls-Royce doesn’t chase volume — Rolls-Royce strives for perfection
“We sell luxury, and we deliver customer experience. We don’t just sell cars,” Krisda says, explaining that every Rolls-Royce is designed to appeal to all the five senses, down to even the air that you breathe. “Everything has been thought out, to the point where when you open the door, you won’t get a drop of rain on you. When you enter a Rolls-Royce, you will be breathing the cleanest air of any car.”
“Our cars are designed to be your private sanctuary, whether you’re being driven or driving yourself. The Phantom, for instance, is our flagship product. It’s the quietest, most luxurious, and indisputably the best car in the world.” He goes on to share that the Rolls-Royce New Ghost took five years to prepare, and was the result of interviewing existing Ghost and Rolls-Royce owners from across the world. “We asked them what they wanted in the New Ghost to make it even more luxurious. We upgraded our technology to make our cars quieter and smoother, like driving over clouds. It’s known as the magic carpet ride, it’s what our clients wanted, and it is only available here at Rolls-Royce.”
The future of Rolls-Royce is electric
“For Rolls-Royce, electric cars are coming, and they’re here to stay,” Krisda tells us, “The Spectre is just the first of other models that will inevitably follow.” He further explains that the move was due to a combination of two things. “The first thing is legal requirements. By 2030 in Europe, all new cars sold will have to be electric. The move is also to answer the call from our ever-younger clientele who are requesting — who are wanting — an electrified Rolls-Royce.”
As for why the marque decided to take the leap from combustion engines to fully-electric — wholly skipping the idea of a transitory hybrid model — Krisda explains that it’s due to the Rolls-Royce philosophy. “What Rolls-Royce will never do is rebrand an existing model,” he says simply, “we will never, for example, take the engine out of an existing model, and just put in a load of batteries at the bottom.”
Each and every Rolls-Royce model has been scrupulously designed to meet the very specific needs of its targeted segment, and Rolls-Royce’s first ultra-luxury EV would be no different. “We’re already taking pre-orders now, for customers who are familiar with Rolls-Royce or those who want their car early. We’re hoping to have some cars in our showroom by the fourth quarter of 2023. Preparations have to be made first, of course. We have to be an EV certified dealership that can sell electric vehicles. We’ll need certified technicians who can service these vehicles, and the dealership has to be equipped with chargers and other necessary facilities.”
From blazing deserts to the arctic circle, Spectre will have seen it all
“I’m not going to mention anything on specifications because I’m not the designer, and this information has not been revealed,” Krisda admits with a good-humoured smile, “but here’s how the Spectre’s designer put it. She will be the world’s most luxurious electric vehicle. She will be comfortable, she will look and feel every inch like a Rolls-Royce, with the performance to match.”
Krisda goes on to share that planning, research, and finally testing are all taken very seriously at Rolls-Royce. “We are the only car manufacturer that produces over 90% handmade cars, built at only one location in the world, and that is at Goodwood in West Sussex, in England.” In fact, earlier in May, Krisda was lucky enough to be one of the first 300 people in the world to see the Spectre at Goodwood, the home of Rolls-Royce. “It was at our annual world dealer conference,” he tells us, “there’s only one Spectre out there at the moment, and she was pulled back from her global testing for us to see. The Spectre will have to go through a 2 and a half million mile journey across the world in all conditions, and she came to us from the arctic circle at -40 degrees celsius.”
According to Krisda, that mileage is equivalent to 400 years worth of average Rolls-Royce use. “You learn more from testing in the monsoon rain, the desert, or across all sorts of different terrain. Every tweak and adjustment that needs to be made won’t be overlooked, so she’ll be nothing short of perfect when she’s launched. That’s just how we do things.”
Every Rolls-Royce new model launch has been a success, and so will The Spectre
“Every model has its place in the product lineup, and that’s why with every new model, Rolls-Royce has never had a failed launch in its history. When we launched The Cullinan, named after the world’s largest diamond, we knew we needed to be in the SUV space because the demand for SUVs was always going to increase, and that demand continues to grow today. The All-New-Ghost 2020 has been our most successful model to date, and I’m absolutely 100% confident The Spectre will eclipse that.”
Krisda’s confidence is completely understandable. A two-door coupe, The Spectre will likely appeal to both current Rolls-Royce owners and a target segment of the young and successful. “It’s been especially designed to answer the call of their driving habits, usage, and their lifestyle.”
Rolls-Royce is the pinnacle of luxury
Taking bespoke services and personalisation to new heights, each Rolls-Royce car has been scrupulously designed to meet the very specific needs of every individual client. “You can choose from 44,000 colours,” Krisda shares. When we wonder why, he follows with a fascinating tidbit of information. “It’s because that’s the full spectrum of colours the eyes can see. Anything over 44,000 colours, which I think is quite sufficient, the eyes can no longer differentiate.”
Of course, for discerning clients who simply want to do things their way, Rolls-Royce offers the option to create a whole new shade, under bespoke. At Rolls-Royce, the possibilities are endless. “As an example, a customer reached success from granite mining, and asked Goodwood to turn the first piece of granite he’d ever dug up into a bespoke clock.” Krisda went on. “Let’s say, for example, you were born on January 1, 1980. We can get the constellation of stars over Bangkok at that exact point in time, and reproduce it for you with thousands of hand-stitched, fibre optic cables beneath the canvas in your car. One of our signature options. Our bespoke services are unrivalled by any other car manufacturer in the world.”
You become a Rolls-Royce owner when you’re ready
An interesting thing we learn from Krisda, is that the Rolls-Royce clientele is ever-evolving. “There’s a shift,” he explains, “people who buy our cars are getting younger, and require more personalization, more individuality. Our clients are business owners who are reaching success earlier. We have a huge number of young, wealthy entrepreneurs who aren’t afraid to own a Rolls-Royce at an early age. We’re also seeing more female owners. You become a Rolls-Royce owner when you’re ready, regardless of age, regardless of gender.”
After Covid-19, now more than ever is the time to live your life
Interestingly enough, the pandemic has not hindered Rolls-Royce. Rather, Krisda tells us that 2021 was the marque’s most successful year in its 118-year history, delivering 5586 cars globally. “A number of auto manufacturers in the upper segment, along with luxury brands, all had pretty good years. I think what Covid-19 has taught us is, live your life, don’t hesitate. You deserve it, so why wait.”
As the pandemic begins shifting towards an endemic, the enigmatic General Manager believes people will only be travelling more, and willing to indulge themselves. “You have to erase that perception that you might have had, that you’ve got to wait until you’re 50 to own a Rolls-Royce. No, the pandemic has taught us to live our lives. You’re not ready for something when you hit a certain age — you’ll know when you’re ready.”
To find out more about the Rolls-Royce Spectre, visit rolls-roycemotorcars.com.