Bentley has pushed back its plans for its first EV, as well as its commitment to an all-electric lineup.
Among luxury and legendary automakers, Bentley is in the same realm as Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, and Ferrari.
All of the previously listed companies have made somewhat firm commitments to a focus on EVs moving forward. Bentley, however, is revising its plans, delaying both its first EV release and its plans for an all-EV lineup.
Previously, it had planned to be all-electric and only offer EVs past 2030. However, it now plans to continue offering at least some plug-in hybrids past 2030.
CEO Adrian Hallmark commented on Bentley’s plans during a recent press conference (via CNBC):
“Whether we deliver all the BEVs by 2031 or not, we still may have some hybrids that we wouldn’t have had post-2030. But not for 10 years, maybe just for a couple of years as we run them out.”
Bentley’s first EV will also be delayed a year, as initially it had planned to release it in 2025. It will now be unveiled and released for the first time in 2026.
The delay in the unveiling of Bentley’s first EV had to do with software issues and meeting the standard that the company expects in terms of the design, as well as architecture bottlenecks.
Hallmark said these were the main factors in the choice to push EV development goals back, and not necessarily the market conditions, which have put other companies’ plans backward.
Bentley still plans to invest $3.4 billion in EV development by the end of the decade. It also plans to release one new all-electric model each year after its initial release in 2026.
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