- Bentley is delaying most EVs as luxury demand stays uncertain.
- Hybrids and gas models will take priority through the decade.
- Only one EV is confirmed before 2030 despite earlier plans.
The automotive industry is undergoing a gigantic shift, and Bentley is changing too. The British luxury brand had big plans to go all electric, but consider that plan delayed big time. Now, it’ll launch just one EV before 2030, and the rest of the lineup will use gas or hybrid powertrains.
This all comes as Bentley reports its seventh straight year of profitability despite a 42 percent drop in that figure year over year, and layoffs hit the company.
The company had previously outlined an ambitious strategy that would see five fully electric Bentleys arrive by 2035. Now, only the first one, an SUV-like EV due in 2027, is still locked in, while the rest of the program has effectively been put on ice.
More: Bentley’s New SUV Will Hit 100 Miles In Seven Minutes
That first EV is expected to be revealed before the end of this year and will ride on Volkswagen Group’s Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture, which also underpins several other upcoming luxury EVs. The four additional EVs were originally being developed on the Porsche-led platform that has since been canceled, effectively ending those projects.
Bentley Electric SUV
Future Lineup Prioritizes Hybrids
Instead of rapidly expanding its EV lineup, the brand will lean heavily on plug-in hybrids and gas engines. It might even keep traditional combustion models around longer than expected. That’s big news all by itself and provides an extra layer of exclusivity for future buyers.
Bentley CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser said the company has had to rethink its entire product plan as the market shifts. Some of that comes directly from customer demands. Recent plug-in hybrid versions of the Continental GT and Flying Spur were well received, and the company says these electrified V8 models can meet future emissions rules without giving up the performance buyers expect.
According to Car&Driver, he also noted that future models will continue adopting plug-in hybrid systems, and confirmed that retrofitting EVs with combustion or hybrid powertrains is not part of the company’s strategy due to feasibility constraints.
That said, it seems clear why Bentley is being cautious. The company reported its seventh straight year of profitability, but deliveries fell five percent, with weaker demand in China cited as a major factor. Bentley says it remains financially solid, but the changing market means it has to be selective about where it invests next. A 42 percent drop in profit is nothing to ignore, and Bentley is making moves to improve its position.
See: What Bentley’s Smaller SUV Could Look Like Is Already Stirring Debate
Bentley is also cutting some 140 jobs in the UK. That’s only a portion of total layoffs, which Walliser says will likely amount to 275 employees, mostly in office jobs. Some of the changes are due to forces outside of Bentley itself.
The Volkswagen group is no longer going to build the Porsche-led Scalable Systems Platform that was going to underpin multiple Bentley products. Without it, the brand had basically no choice but to abandon its plans. Despite that, it’ll still likely go EV-only at some point… just not anytime soon.
