Bentley to launch all-new EV SUV in 2026

MANILA: Bentley is set to launch an all-new, all-electric sports utility vehicle (SUV) in 2026. The luxury marque shared the said development amidst the reveal of Beyond100+, an updated form of its previous Beyond100 business strategy.

As the Crewe-based luxury car maker further claimed, the upcoming model will give rise to a new electric vehicle (EV) market segment. No further details were provided on the upcoming model itself, but it is touted to become the world’s first “true Luxury Urban SUV.” 

Additionally, the Luxury Urban SUV mentioned above will be developed and produced at the brand’s home base in Crewe, England. It will also be the first in a long lineup of plug-in hybrid (PHEV) or EV models, which Bentley will launch every year over the next decade. 

The company’s new strategy will also extend the lifecycle of its current PHEV models through to 2035 before going all-electric. The brand did not share which models it was referring to. However, its two latest pair of PHEV units, the next-generation versions of the Flying Spur sedan and Continental GT Speed, could benefit from the British luxury car company’s revamped business strategy. 

For reference, the two PHEV Bentley nameplates currently utilize a 4.0-liter V8 high-performance hybrid powertrain with a maximum engine output of 771 horsepower and 1,000 Newton-meters of torque. The said engine replaces the old W12 engine, which Bentley stopped making this year. 

“Four years almost to the day that Bentley initially outlined its Beyond100 strategy, we adapt to today’s economic, market and legislative environment to initiate a major transformative phase for tomorrow,” Chairman and CEO of Bentley Motors Dr. Frank-Steffen Walliser said. 

“Beyond100+ becomes our guiding light as we extend our ambitions beyond 2030, while maintaining our aim of a decarbonized future, including offering only fully electric cars from 2035, and reinforcing our credentials as the British creator of extraordinary cars for over a century and beyond,” Walliser added. 

To facilitate its enactment of the Beyond100+ plan, the company likewise shared that it is reinventing its historic Crewe facility. It is the brand’s largest self-funded site investment in history, and it is poised to become a high-tech, carbon-neutral factory of the future. 

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