The Crewe-based luxury car maker also reveals plans to go fully electric by 2035.
The electrification of the auto industry continues apace, with Bentley the latest firm to announce plans to produce a fully electric car in 2026. The announcement confirms the brand’s commitment to sustainability and the environment, first outlined in its Beyond100 strategy, which has been updated and is now known as Beyond100+.
So what does it all mean? First and foremost, Bentley’s fully electric car (or BEV) will be ‘the world’s first true luxury urban SUV’. It’s a bold claim, but going on personal experience of the Continental GT and Bentayga, one that they are well suited to pull off. It also means Bentley has committed to extend their life cycle of hybrid (or PHEV) models until at least 2035.
The current lineup of Bentley cars, which includes the previously mentioned Bentayga and Continental GT, as well as the Flying Spur, will continue to use the hybrid V8 powertrain that was introduced after the discontinuation of the iconic W12. From 2035, all Bentleys will be BEVs, the firm announced.
This is all that has been revealed of the firm’s first full-EV offering.
‘Four years almost to the day that Bentley initially outlined its Beyond100 strategy, we adapt to today’s economic, market and legislative environment to initiate a major transformative phase for tomorrow,’ says Frank-Steffen Walliser, CEO of Bentley Motors.
‘Beyond100+ becomes our guiding light as we extend our ambitions beyond 2030, while maintaining our aim of a decarbonised future, including offering only fully electric cars from 2035, and reinforcing our credentials as the British creator of extraordinary cars for over a century and beyond.’
Bentley’s announcement is another step in the slow decline of internal combustion engines in luxury high-performance cars. Lotus have already committed to going fully electric by the end of the decade, and recent hypercar reveals from McLaren and Ferrari (the W1 and F80) all include hybrid powertrains. Adam Hay-Nicholls recently tested the Ferrari 12Cilindri, which he suggested was likely to be the last V12 produced by the italian maker.
James Fisher is the deputy digital editor of countrylife.co.uk. He lives in London.
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