- 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 preserve 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 can be a “luxurious city SUV” that will not change 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 as a consequence of packaging disadvantages, Matthias Rabe, head of analysis and improvement at Bentley, mentioned.
2024 Bentley Bentayga Apex Version
“Charging speeds can be extremely good, and vary can be ample,” Walliser mentioned, explaining that whole journey time is what Bentley is targeted on, and that this may be saved affordable by means of a mix of quick charging and vary. These feedback had been echoed by Rabbe, who added that engineers are in search of a alternative 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 barely artificial,” Rabbe mentioned, promising a brand new method to sound that is not presently utilized by another 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 Pace in Tourmaline Inexperienced
“Laws is driving electrification,” together with competitors from different automakers, Walliser mentioned, however added that alternatively “there’s not quite a lot of demand” for EVs amongst present Bentley prospects. However the Bentley CEO sees demand on new prospects in search of a “extra trendy interpretation of a Bentley” and believes present prospects may be gained over as soon as they drive an EV.
Bentley presently affords plug-in hybrid variations of each mannequin, nevertheless it’s unclear if the automaker will persist with a plan introduced in 2020 to eradicate standalone combustion powertrains. There’s at the very least yet one more non-hybrid model of the Bentayga deliberate, Rabbe mentioned. Bentley may even proceed to provide plug-in hybrids so long as there may be demand, he mentioned, that means the 2035 deadline for his or her elimination might be versatile.
Walliser mentioned in a current interview that anticipated battery-technology developments and progress of charging infrastructure will create higher situations for EVs round 2035. On condition that this aligns with Bentley’s present EV plans, there’s maybe a greater probability that these plans will really come to fruition—giving Bentley the all-electric lineup it has been discussing, on and off, for a decade.
