New Bentley SUV to be brand’s first all-electric car when it arrives in 2025
Bentley will launch its first pure electric car in 2025, and our exclusive image previews how it could look
Bentley will launch its first full electric car in 2025 and will follow this with a new all-electric model every year to 2030, the brand has confirmed. Alongside these five new EVs introduced between late 2025 and 2030, the British firm will also launch five new hybrid cars this year, accelerating its electrification strategy. Every Bentley will be at least a plug-in hybrid by 2026, and fully electric from 2030.
Securing £2.5bn in investment to underpin these five new electric cars, Bentley will also revamp its Crewe factory to become a state-of-the-art facility for EV manufacturing.
Our exclusive image previews what Bentley’s first all-electric model could look like, and speaking at the brand’s recent Beyond100 strategy update, company CEO Adrian Hallmark said: “Just like the Continental GT in 2003 was a game changer, a segment shaper, we don’t just aim to build the first Bentley as an EV, we intend to create and shape a segment. We aim to make a game changer.”
Given the brand’s current line-up and Hallmark’s further comments about future EVs replacing current models in the line-up in time, this points towards Bentley’s first EV breaking new ground for the brand as it embarks on its second century in business.
The most likely candidate is a higher-riding car that matches Bentley’s values as a sporting, luxury brand. With technical synergies with VW Group partner Audi, this model could be based on the PPE platform being jointly developed by Audi and Porsche, and equipped with 800v electronic architecture. Yet it’s thought that not all of Bentley’s electric cars will use the same platform, while all of the brand’s EVs will be designed and developed in Crewe.
Hallmark added: “We’ll reinvent the company. This is no question the boldest strategy that we’ve ever developed as a company, it’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity.” He said that the Beyond100 plan is also “about redefining Bentley as a benchmark, not just for our cars, but for sustainability across the whole scope of our operations – and all achieved from a UK manufacturing base”.
Bentley’s boss also outlined that the brand’s current line-up will be replaced by full EV models with the same positioning as life cycles run out. Bentley counts its Continental GT and GTC as separate models, with replacements for the Bentayga and Flying Spur bringing the number of EV models to five, hence the first EV entering a new segment for the manufacturer.
In the meantime, Bentley’s chief technical engineer for Flying Spur and Continental GT recently confirmed to Auto Express that it is “absolutely the path” to add a more powerful V8 plug-in hybrid powertrain to the Flying Spur range. As seen in the 690bhp Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid, which shares its MSB platform with the Flying Spur and Continental GT, this could also therefore find its way into Bentley’s big coupe.
‘Dream Factory’ at heart of firm’s future
As part of Bentley’s fully electric vision, its home in Crewe will play a key part. Securing £2.5bn of sustainable private investment, this will underpin the transformation towards a ‘Dream Factory’.
The plant in Cheshire has already achieved certification as a carbon-neutral facility, and among future initiatives to further improve sustainability is an extension of on-site energy production at Crewe, with targets to also increase the number of solar panels from 30,000 to 40,000 over the next two years.
The brand also intends to reduce the level of water consumption, waste sent to landfill and many other processes that produce CO2 in the manufacturing process for every vehicle built at Crewe. Bentley will also impose minimum sustainability standards on its suppliers.
As part of its extensive renovation of the Crewe site, the British firm will also do away with conventional conveyor belts in its plant, replacing these with autonomous robots that carry Bentleys in production down the line, as seen above in the brand’s preview image.
As part of the manufacturer’s commitment to redefine sustainable luxury, Bentley is not only looking at the products it offers, but also how they’re designed and built to reduce its cars’ end-to-end carbon footprint.
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