Bentley kills off almost all of its future EV models, with hybrids taking centre stage
The global rollback on electric cars continues – this time at the very top end of the market
Bentley’s ambitious plan to build five all-electric models by 2035 is being rolled back as it, like so many global electric car initiatives, faces limited demand from customers. The forthcoming electric ‘Urban SUV’ will still arrive in 2027, but the following four models that were under development on a new electric platform from Porsche won’t survive, as a major cull in electric car R&D sweeps across the motoring world.
In conversation with Auto Express, Bentley CEO Frank Walliser said: “We have to rethink and recalculate our complete product line, and all future offers. If you compare our planning with what it was two years ago, it looks completely different.”
The news comes as little surprise given the decision by Porsche to cancel the SSP-61 platform program – formerly known as the SSP-Sport – that was destined to underpin the future K1 SUV, plus the next-generation Taycan and a new all-electric Panamera.
By extension, this means that development of Bentley’s four future EV models due by 2035 has also been put to bed. However, according to Walliser, this doesn’t mean there will be no new electric models in the future, only that the company will need to write off the development conducted so far and start down a new path.
In the short term, Bentley will refocus on hybrid models. The plug-in hybrid V8 powertrains in the company’s Continental GT and Flying Spur variants have been very well received, and thanks to relatively high levels of electrification, will be easy to adapt to more stringent European emissions regulations in the future.
Looking further down the line, Bentley is looking to ‘self-fund’ more of its engineering programs, which will give greater levels of flexibility – and therefore differentiation – from its sister companies within the Volkswagen Group.
However, the pause on electric doesn’t mean that all of the brand’s future EV plans have been abandoned, because in the longer term Bentley still has ambitions to switch to fully electric models when demand calls for it. Frank continued: “We have a very close eye on the development and acceptance of the EV market, especially in the upper segment. But the next car will not come before 2030.”
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