Bentley not going full EV by 2030, to focus more on hybrids
New Bentley CEO declares ICEs are here to stay, for now
Back in late 2020, Crewe-based luxury automaker Bentley proclaimed they would be going full electric by 2030. Under the company’s (then) Beyond100 strategy, it plans to reinvent every aspect of its business to become an end-to-end carbon-neutral brand. The company even declared that by 2030, it will be launching five new electric vehicles (EVs), with the first one arriving as early as 2025.
Fast forward to the present day, Bentley will be shifting away from its original plan of going full EV. Instead, the Crewe-based company will focus more on hybrids (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). In a report by Car & Driver, the automaker shared with the publication that based on their clientele, their customers still prefer combustion engines which is an important factor when it comes to luxury vehicles.
Newly-appointed Bentley CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser, who led the Porsche 918 Spyder project, shared that most customers consider luxury cars only with a combustion engine under the hood.
“What we see in the luxury market right now [is that] people reject electric cars. They consider luxury cars only with the combustion engine,” declared Walliser.
Moreover, Walliser mentioned that EVs are infrastructure-based technology which somehow limits their ability to become more widespread.
“The electric car is infrastructure-based technology. And the introduction of technology that is infrastructure-based is normally, for whatever reason, speed-wise, overrated, while the depth of usage is normally underrated,” said Walliser.
The executive also likened the rollout of EVs when 3G mobile was first released in the 2000s. At the time, everyone thought mobile data coverage would become the norm in just several years. In reality, however, it took more than a decade for the technology to become more prominent.
“Everybody was convinced: in three years, mobile internet would be everywhere. They were wrong; it took 10 or 12 years. Then, when it was there, the depth of usage was far bigger than was expected. Who would have said that everybody would have an iPhone and everybody would be doing everything on their phone except using it to make phone calls,” added Walliser.
With the luxury car market preferring HEVs and PHEVs, it’s no surprise Bentley will shift in that direction. Walliser even said that hybrids will both serve as a bridge technology and as a good solution that will work for plenty of customers. In addition, the executive is looking at the concept of using e-fuels which is something that Porsche has been busy working on to make vehicles produce fewer carbon emissions.
Despite Bentley’s decision to delay its full EV plans, that doesn’t mean they will not be releasing any zero-emissions vehicles. In fact, Walliser mentioned they plan to roll out an EV in the coming years.
“The plan is to show the first fully electric Bentley in around 2026, with market entry in 2027, with an ambition to be fully electric in the mid-2030s,” shared Walliser.
With Bentley already releasing powerful PHEVs such as the all-new Flying Spur, Continental GT Speed, and the Bentayga Hybrid, the Crewe-based automaker will continue making electrified ICEs in the years to come.
