News
Bentley To Release 5 Electric Cars In 5 Years From 2025
From 2025 to 2025, Bentley will introduce five electrified models, the first of which is anticipated to be a high-riding saloon.
The Crewe firm’s announcement today accelerates its Beyond100 plan, which indicated it will become a carbon-neutral electric-only brand by 2030.
According to Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark, development and design of the first model, which will arrive in late 2025, is well advanced. “We are familiar with the battery and its performance. The final design will take a few weeks to a few months to complete. [The automobile] will be a supplement to the ones we now have and will not compete with anything we do. We want to shape a segment as well as an electric vehicle.”
The five cars won’t all use the same platform – “some will be higher, some will be lower” said Hallmark – but they will all use shared Volkswagen Group architecture.
Hallmark said the way group platforms are shared has significantly improved for Bentley. “Before, [our platforms] were developed from group architectures that were developed way before we got to the party. The effort to modify systems and the suppliers’ requirements has been a major limiter for Bentley in the past.
“With this generation of car, right from the outset, we’ve been involved to ensure the specification that Bentley needs. I can’t emphasise enough how much of a breakthrough this is. It’s a game changer, it’s so efficient.”
He went on to say that battery technology has advanced quickly, allowing the company to achieve its objectives. “We didn’t have a clear commitment to a battery technology that would be adequate for the automobile that we’ve now verified even a year ago.” We can now construct a car that is as large as the one we have presently. It’s another step ahead if I look forward to my late twenties.”
He noted that the first two to three electric models will have a lot in common in terms of battery technology, and that later models will be able to incorporate new innovations. After that, these enhancements will be “retro-applied” to the first batch of Bentley EVs. He verified that the initial model will have a range of much over 300 kilometers.
Alain Favey, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing, emphasized that charging an electric vehicle must be a truly luxurious experience. “For our clients, the speed and convenience of charging away from home is perhaps the most significant factor. We’ve got time to work on it.”
“We see a new generation of luxury car consumers who are concerned about global warming and are only buying brands who are really devoted to sustainability,” Favey said of the desire for luxury EVs. We know that the vast majority of our consumers today envision themselves driving an electric car in 2030.”
“We see a new generation of luxury car purchasers who are concerned about global warming and are only buying luxury electric vehicles,” Favey added.
