Bentley delays first BEV, shifts focus to plug-in hybrids

LONDON -- Bentley has delayed the launch of its first battery-electric car, pushed back its target to go all-electric by 2030 and shifted more of its focus to plug-in hybrid versions of its models.

However, the Volkswagen Group luxury unit said it was still committed to its strategy of shifting to electric only.

The brand will now unveil its first full-electric car in 2026, with customer deliveries starting in 2027. The delay is because of technical issues linked to software problems and other platform-related concerns, Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark said.

Bentley originally planned to launch its first BEV in 2025 followed by another four all-electric cars each spaced a year apart before selling only full-electric models by 2030.

However, the so-called Beyond 100 plan has been pushed back to focus more on plug-in hybrid models. "Because of the delay of the first BEV and because of all the changes around us, we are investing more in hybrids," Hallmark told journalists during a press briefing on the brand's 2023 financial results (see results chart below).

While its BEV deadline has shifted, Bentley is sticking to its original plans made in 2020 to switch all its combustion-engine models to plug-in hybrids by 2026. "We have seen an uptick in the acceptance and demand for hybrids," Hallmark said.

The company already sells plug-in versions of its Flying Spur sedan and Bentayga SUV but will switch all its Continental GT coupe and Flying Spur models to the drivetrain this summer.

Both models will mate a V-8 engine to an electrified powertrain, marking an upgrade for the Flying Spur plug-in hybrid which currently uses a V-6 engine.

The Bentayga will keep its current engine lineup until 2026, when it will move to plug-in hybrid only.

The company’s increased focus on plug-in models will give them a longer life than originally planned.

"We expected a drop-off of hybrids in 2028, 2029 and 2030 but now we expect that could actually grow and continue," Hallmark said. "It gives us more opportunity and it insures us against slower adoption of BEVs."

Hallmark said Bentley will now continue to sell plug-in hybrids into the next decade. “If we put significant investment into a hybrid in 2026-27, we need to run that until 2031 maybe or 2032 to get the amortization for the investment that we put in,” he said.

Bentley's decision to delay its EV follows news in February that rival U.K. luxury brand Aston Martin had also pushed back the launch of its first BEV by a year to 2026. Aston Martin Chairman Lawrence Stroll Stroll said there was "much more driven demand" for plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Rolls-Royce launched its first BEV, the Spectre coupe, last year. The BMW Group brand said in January it had Spectre orders extending into 2025 and reiterated its plan to go all-electric by 2030.

Hallmark said the delay of Bentley’s EV was more to do with internal technical concerns rather than a slowdown in sales of full-electric cars.

Bentley’s planned all-electric car was initially held back by the same VW Group software issues that delayed the electric Porsche Macan and Audi Q6 E-tron that are based on the group's new PPE platform. A version of the platform will also underpin the Bentley EV, the company has said previously.

The delay now is "more the battery and architecture issues that we have had to get to our attribute and target levels," Hallmark said. Bentley has said it needs sufficient battery density to reach a range of 600 km (373 miles), giving it parity with its combustion engine cars.

Delaying the model will improve it in some areas. “Some of the autonomous features that we will now get are better than the ones that we would have got,” Hallmark said.

The Bentley electric car will have advanced driver assistance technology, which Hallmark called "Level 2++" including a remote summon feature, but not hands-off, eyes-off Level 3 autonomous driving.

Bentley sold 13,560 cars in 2023, down 11 percent on the year before as the brand reduced production ahead of planned changes to models, including switching to plug-in hybrids. The company also built its last V-12 model in April.

Bentley posted slightly lower profit margins for 2023 at 20.1 percent vs 20.9 percent the year before on revenue of €2.94 billion ($3.19 billion).

The reduced margins were partly due to the increased spending on EV development, Hallmark said, adding that company has double investment in the last three years. “Everything's locked and loaded” on the EV investment, he said.