Bentley’s first electric vehicle will arrive in 2026 as “the world’s first true luxury urban SUV”, according to the British firm – and it will be one of 10 EV and plug-in hybrid models to be launched in the space of a decade.
The debut EV from the Crewe-based firm had been due next year but, in a manner similar to other car firms, Bentley has pushed its timescales back, including its ambition to become electric-only, which is now set for 2035.
Instead, it will continue to develop PHEV technology and now extend the life cycle of its PHEV cars beyond 2030 until 2035. New Bentley boss Frank-Steffen Walliser said the firm was adapting to “today’s economic, market and legislative environment” and called the new strategy “a major transformative plan for tomorrow”.
Bentley’s revised electrification plan
Bentley revealed its bold Beyond100 business strategy in 2020, with a plan to launch its first EV in 2025 and become an EV-only brand by 2030. But with slower-than-expected demand for EVs in the luxury segment, former Bentley boss Adrian Hallmark indicated earlier this year that the timing would be pushed back until 2032/33.
The revised Beyond100+ strategy has now laid out a clear plan, which includes an “ambition” to be building only full-electric cars from 2035 onwards and continuing with its successful line-up of PHEV models until then. Following the discontinuation of the firm’s fabled W12 engine, the Continental GT and Flying Spur are now offered purely with a V8 PHEV powertrain.
Under the new Beyond100+ plan, the 2026 EV will begin a decade-long programme of launching a new EV or PHEV model every year.
Bentley has not yet indicated whether each of those vehicles will be an entirely new model or if some will be powertrain variations, but it hints at a significant expansion of the company’s line-up beyond the current range of four model lines.
First Bentley EV to ‘create new market segment’
Beyond saying that its first EV will sit in a new segment, Bentley has previously given few firm details about the model – but the announcement of the Beyond100+ business plan provides new information.
Along with a preview sketch hinting at the car’s roofline, Bentley has described the vehicle, which will be revealed in 2026 and go on sale the following year, as “the world’s first true luxury urban SUV”, adding that it will create an “entirely new segment”. The model will be designed, developed and produced at Bentley’s Crewe factory.
This confirms Autocar’s earlier reports that the new EV will be a “segment-straddling crossover”, and it will be less than five metres long, making it Bentley’s smallest vehicle to date. The new luxury electric SUV would effectively be positioned below the larger Bentayga in the firm’s SUV line-up.