British luxury automaker Bentley has announced a five year delay to its previously stated goal of producing only full battery electric vehicles (EVs), and says this will now be reached in 2035 rather than 2030, although its first battery EV is due to be revealed in 2026.
Bentley originally announced in late-2020 that it would switch its entire model range to BEVs by 2030 after a switch to only plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs) or BEVs in 2026.
However, pointing to “today’s economic, market, and legislative environment” and framing its decision as a move to “further cement” its leadership in the luxury hybrid car sector, Bentley now says it is extending the lifecycle of PHEV models beyond 2030 to 2035.
The new strategy, now called Beyond100+, was outlined alongside confirmation that Bentley’s first fully electric car will be revealed in 2026, which it says will create the world’s first true luxury urban SUV.
“Four years almost to the day that Bentley initially outlined its Beyond100 strategy, we adapt to today’s economic, market, and legislative environment to initiate a major transformative phase for tomorrow,” said Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser, chairman and CEO of Bentley Motors.
“Beyond100+ becomes our guiding light as we extend our ambitions beyond 2030, while maintaining our aim of a decarbonised future, including offering only fully electric cars from 2035, and reinforcing our credentials as the British creator of extraordinary cars for over a century and beyond.”
Bentley’s Continental GT coupe, Convertible, and Flying Spur models are now to be exclusively offered with an Ultra Performance plug-in V8 hybrid powertrain, which follows the discontinuation of Bentley’s iconic W12 engine after over 20 years of production in Crewe.
The Bentley100+ business strategy will also see a “fundamental reinvention of the Crewe manufacturing infrastructure” so as to secure the company’s future at Crewe for the next generation of products.
This will build on work already completed at Crewe which includes the creation of a certified carbon neutral facility and turns now to build the company’s “Dream Factory” for its electric future.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.
