- First Bentley EV due in 2026
- First EV will be an SUV smaller than the Bentayga
- Bentley aims to become fully electric brand by 2035
Bentley has scaled back its electrification plans in the face of slower than expected growth in demand for electric vehicles but will still launch a vehicle powered solely by batteries by the previously announced date of 2026, CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser said during a press conference held on Thursday.
Bentley only two years ago was planning to launch its first EV by the middle of the decade and follow it up with a new EV every year for the next four years, in order to become a fully electric brand by 2030.
However, the automaker now plans to launch just the one EV, confirmed by Walliser on Thursday as an SUV, and will add more depending on how the market turns. Walliser said Bentley is open to launching a new EV or plug-in hybrid every year after the first EV, and currently targets a switch to a fully electric lineup by 2035.
During the conference, Matthias Rabe, Bentley’s head of engineering, said Bentley EVs will only use dedicated EV platforms, so there won’t be any models offering the choice of electric or plug-in hybrid powertrains. According to him, the packaging demands are just so different that compromises would need to be made.
Frank-Steffen Walliser
This means Bentley’s debut EV won’t be related to any other Bentley model. It will be a new model line, and is described by Walliser as a “luxury urban SUV.” It will measure less than 197 inches long, which will make it smaller than the Bentayga which measures 202 inches nose to tail, and be more agile than a typical Bentley. According to Walliser, this will make it easier to drive in urban areas and is intended to attract buyers that are new to the brand.
Walliser has previously expressed that the majority of Bentley’s existing customers don’t want EVs, but that there’s also a segment of buyers out there looking for high-end EVs. For these buyers, he said, it’s about the whole experience, not just the drivetrain.
Very few specific details on the first EV were revealed during the conference, but Rabe revealed that there will be distinct sound that the vehicle makes. He said the vehicle won’t have a synthetic sound, like what many other automakers are doing, but instead will have a novel setup that “no one is doing.” He also said the EV will have sufficient range, and that Bentley will focus more on delivering a very fast charging speed.
