- Bentley’s pushed its timeline to go all electrical again 5 years to 2035
- The automaker’s first EV will arrive in 2027 and be an SUV
- Bentley will maintain PHEVs in its lineup till 2035, and BEVs will stay separate merchandise
Bentley is as soon as once more reshuffling its electrification plans, nevertheless it nonetheless expects to have an all-electric lineup by 2035, the automaker introduced Thursday.
In January 2022, Bentley introduced plans to introduce 5 electrical autos over 5 years beginning in 2025, resulting in an all-EV lineup by 2030. The launch of that first EV was later pushed again to 2026, a timeline that is nonetheless in impact, Bentley CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser mentioned in a media briefing, with a market launch in 2027 and prototypes presently present process testing.
That first all-electric mannequin shall be a “luxurious city SUV” that will not substitute any of Bentley’s present fashions, Walliser mentioned, including that it will likely be “compact for a Bentley” at about 196 inches lengthy. That is 5.8 inches shorter than the present Bentley Bentayga SUV. Future Bentley EVs additionally will not share platforms with its all-combustion or plug-in hybrid fashions because of packaging disadvantages, Matthias Rabe, head of analysis and growth at Bentley, mentioned.
2024 Bentley Bentayga Apex Version
“Charging speeds shall be extremely good, and vary shall be enough,” Walliser mentioned, explaining that whole journey time is what Bentley is targeted on, and that this may be stored affordable by means of a mixture of quick charging and vary. These feedback had been echoed by Rabbe, who added that engineers are on the lookout for a substitute for the exhaust noises of internal-combustion Bentleys.
“We do not simply wish to copy one thing, and we do not simply wish to make one thing which is simply artificial,” Rabbe mentioned, promising a brand new method to sound that is not presently utilized by some other EV maker.
Together with its first EV, Bentley plans to introduce a brand new plug-in hybrid or all-electric mannequin yearly earlier than switching to promoting solely electrical vehicles in 2035. Walliser confirmed that plug-in hybrids will keep within the lineup till that time, serving to to reconcile what he sees as weak demand within the luxurious market for EVs with the emissions rules anticipated to require extra of them.
Bentley Continental GT Velocity in Tourmaline Inexperienced
“Laws is driving electrification,” together with competitors from different automakers, Walliser mentioned, however added that alternatively “there’s not a whole lot of demand” for EVs amongst present Bentley prospects. However the Bentley CEO sees demand on new prospects on the lookout for a “extra fashionable interpretation of a Bentley” and believes present prospects will be received over as soon as they drive an EV.
Bentley presently provides plug-in hybrid variations of each mannequin, nevertheless it’s unclear if the automaker will follow a plan introduced in 2020 to remove standalone combustion powertrains. There may be no less than yet another non-hybrid model of the Bentayga deliberate, Rabbe mentioned. Bentley can even proceed to provide plug-in hybrids so long as there’s demand, he mentioned, which means the 2035 deadline for his or her elimination could possibly be versatile.
Walliser mentioned in a latest interview that anticipated battery-technology developments and development of charging infrastructure will create higher situations for EVs round 2035. Provided that this aligns with Bentley’s present EV plans, there’s maybe a greater likelihood that these plans will really come to fruition—giving Bentley the all-electric lineup it has been discussing, on and off, for a decade.
