Bentley to be all-electric by 2030

BENTLEY has outlined its plans to move to full electrification by the end of the decade as well as being end-to-end carbon-neutral as part of its new Beyond100 strategy.

 

Detailed this week by brand executives, the Beyond100 strategy will see Bentley transition entirely to producing battery electric vehicles (BEVs) by 2030 with a mid-way stepping stone set for 2026, by which point its line-up will consist entirely of either BEVs or plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).

 

“With the promise to offer truly sustainable luxury, Bentley will reinvent every aspect of its business to become an end-to-end carbon-neutral organisation as it embarks on its second century,” the brand said in a statement.

 

“The target is driven by a transformation programme across Bentley’s entire operations and products.”

 

Bentley Motors chairman and chief executive officer Adrian Hallmark went one step further as to say the luxury brand had always been at the forefront of progress and defined luxury grand touring.

 

“The original Bentley boys were pioneers and leaders,” he said. “Now, as we look Beyond100, we will continue to lead by reinventing the company and becoming the world’s benchmark luxury-car business.

 

“Driving this change includes, and also goes beyond our products, delivering a paradigm shift throughout our business, with credibility, authenticity, and integrity.

 

“Within a decade, Bentley will transform from a 100-year-old luxury car company to a new, sustainable, wholly ethical role model for luxury.”

 

Not wasting any time, Bentley’s first BEV is due to hit the market in 2025 but before that, the luxury marque plans to offer at least one hybrid variant within every model line by 2023.

 

Two new PHEVs are also slated for a 2021 release, taking the brand’s hybrid count to three.

 

While it is still anybody’s guess as to what form the inaugural BEV will take, we expect it to be a spin-off of the Continental GT given it is the core model for the brand and bears the greatest resemblance to the all-electric EXP 100 GT concept car which debuted last year.

 

Regardless, the development of the new vehicle should not prove especially difficult given Bentley is part of the wider Volkswagen Group, meaning it has access to and could leverage all of the BEV technology and componentry already being developed and launched by Porsche (Taycan), Audi (e-tron) and Volkswagen (ID).

 

Last year the brand’s Crewe production facilities became the first UK luxury automotive factory to be certified carbon-neutral by the Carbon Trust after a 20-year effort to reduce its carbon footprint.

 

The work has not stopped there however with all suppliers reportedly expected to pass a sustainability audit by the end of 2020 as the brand works towards another 2030 goal of making its primary facility ‘climate positive’.

 

Bentley does not currently offer any hybrid variants Down Under, however the updated Bentayga SUV revealed in February will feature a PHEV version with its powertrain borrowed from the Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid.

 

The new plans will also spell the end for Bentley’s signature engine, the 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12 mill which has been underpinning the Continental GT in one form or another since 2003.