Bentley’s investing $3.4 billion in sustainability projects that will result, in part, in the luxury performance brand’s first fully electric vehicle hitting the market in “late 2025”
The decadelong investment plan also makes its facility in Crewe, England the epicenter of its electrification efforts as part of its Beyond100 program, the company revealed today.
“Beyond100 is the boldest plan in Bentley’s illustrious history, and in the luxury segment. It’s an ambitious and credible roadmap to carbon neutrality of our total business system, including the shift to 100% BEV in just eight years,” said Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark, chairman and CEO.
“Our aim is to become the benchmark not just for luxury cars or sustainable credentials but the entire scope of our operations. Securing production of our first BEV in Crewe is a milestone moment for Bentley, and the UK, as we plan for a long-term sustainable future in Crewe.”
Laying out the plan
The company’s plan for moving toward a carbon neutral future is called Beyond100 and it was introduced in November 2020. The ambitious plan called for the company entire vehicle portfolio to be all-electric by 2030.
During a livestreamed update Wednesday, the company’s top executives confirmed nothing has changed, but offered some more insight on what’s going to happen between now and 2030.
The company plans to offer each of its three product lines as a plug-in hybrid by 2024 and in plug-in hybrid and battery-electric model by 2026 with the final transition to electric only in 2030.
However, the plans have expanded as it will now offer five products and they will be completely re-engineered every five years on a rotating basis — one each year and at the end of five years, each model will have been updated.
More Bentley products coming
Without revealing all of the details, Bentley committed to its Five-in-Five plan, which begins in 2025 with the first all-electric vehicle. The company didn’t say which one it would be, but TheDetroitBureau.com previously reported Bentley was working with Audi to prep a new all-electric SUV for 2025.
Officials today noted the three vehicles it currently offers, the Bentayga SUV, Flying Spur and Continental GT will get two new stablemates. One will be the just-referenced all-electric SUV and officials said the Continental GT will get a convertible, which the company considers a separate vehicle line.
Officials also noted the company had its best year ever in 2021, moving 14,659 vehicles for the year — a 31% increase. The company’s Bentayga was its best seller by a wide margin, accounting for 40% of the brand’s volume last year.
Bentley buyers must be ready for the shift to electrification as 20% of the Bentaygas sold were plug-in hybrids. The new Flying Spur PHEV is expected to post similar results with it hits the market shortly, officials predicted.
The Flying Spur PHEV, as well as five additional derivatives, added to the current Bentayga PHEV to meet the “diverse needs of Bentley’s discerning customers” are expected to account for a fifth of sales this year. Without offering predictions, the company is expected to surpass the results of its record 2021, officials said.
