news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

it house reported on september 29 that bentley motors will slow down its pure electric vehicle plans as its leadership admits that buyers in the high-end market still prefer internal combustion engines.

it house noted that bentley announced in january 2020 that it planned to sell only plug-in hybrid vehicles or pure electric vehicles by 2026, and to fully shift to electrification by 2030. however, under the leadership of new chief technology officer frank-steffen walliser, bentley's electrification strategy has been adjusted. walliser is a 29-year veteran of porsche ag and was responsible for the development of the 918 spyder hybrid supercar.

in a recent interview, walliser acknowledged that adoption of ev technology has been slower than many in the industry expected. walliser said,"what we're seeing in the luxury car market right now is that people are rejecting electric cars and they're only looking at luxury cars with internal combustion engines."

unlike some other brands, bentley can't afford to produce both electric and gas-powered versions of the same car in the same segment. therefore, the company considers plug-in hybrids to be a viable transitional solution. additionally, walliser promotes the use of sustainable e-fuels, which porsche already produces on a large scale at a plant in chile.

walliser said: "hybrid is definitely more than just a novel transition technology. it is a very good solution that meets the needs of many customers. our goal is to reduce the carbon footprint and i fully believe that with synthetic fuels, we can close this gap because we can reduce the amount of carbon dioxide entering the cycle rather than adding additional carbon dioxide to the environment."

however, bentley hasn't completely given up on its electric car dream. bentley plans to launch its first electric car around 2026 and officially go on sale in 2027, according to the company's ceo. walliser also said,bentley hopes to go fully electric by the mid-2030s.

however, details about bentley's first electric car are still limited. walliser clarified that the electric car will not replace any of the company's existing models, but rather serve as a new member of its model family.