In a letter to staff, chairman Peter Schwarzenbauer and chief executive Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes detailed Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ plans to enter the SUV market.

The brand has always aimed to set a benchmark for what a super-luxury car should be and has made the decision to take on the SUV market, having been urged by its customers.

The new model aims to be one that offers the luxury of a Rolls-Royce, in a high-bodied car, with all-aluminium architecture, that can cross any terrain and appropriately reflect Rolls-Royce’s brand promise of effortless luxury, as well as meet its customers’ highly mobile, contemporary lifestyle expectations.

Chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes said: “I am proud to confirm that Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is developing an all-new, high-bodied Rolls-Royce designed to satisfy the contemporary, highly mobile lifestyles of our discerning clients around the world.

“I am confident that this new Rolls-Royce will fully deliver on our brand’s promise of supreme luxury while at the same time being Effortless ... Everywhere.  The journey towards this all-new Rolls-Royce begins now and we will keep our customers, enthusiasts and media informed of our progress along the way.”

Chairman of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Peter Schwarzenbauer, said: “The BMW Group stands proudly behind this announcement.  The Group’s continuous investment into the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars brand is paying considerable dividends.

“Rolls-Royce is the ultra-luxury cornerstone of the BMW Group’s premium brand strategy and we will continue to strongly support Rolls-Royce Motor Cars as it moves, confidently, into this new phase in its development.”

The letter finished with – Sir Henry Royce famously said: “When it does not exist, design it”.