Bentley’s first electric car will be on sale by the end of 2026 as part of a revised timetable of launches that will also see it invest more into plug-in hybrids. The Crewe firm’s first EV had originally been due in 2025 as the first of five new electric cars due at a rate of one per year when first announced in 2022. That first EV, a standalone model in the range, will now be revealed at the end of 2026 with the first deliveries sneaking in by the end of that year.
The delay has allowed for the new car to host “better autonomous features than we’d have got in 2025” , said Hallmark, specifically referring to low-speed driving assistance technology and motorway driving. He said the new technology will even include the ability to avoid kerbing the wheels. While the new EV will mark the start of a major EV push by Bentley, the recent slowdown in the EV market has convinced the firm that plug-in hybrid powertrains can prove more than an interim technology.