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One of the most important points of Bentley’s Beyond100 strategy talks about the company’s first pure electric model. As part of a massive £2.5 billion (approximately $3 billion) investment, the EV is being designed and developed in-house in Crewe where it will also be made. Originally, the zero-emissions model was supposed to come out in 2025, but CEO Adrian Hallmark has told us European Automotive News its launch has been pushed back to 2026.
The luxury brand boss said the delay was technically “months” rather than a full year. She said AN This setback is unrelated to recent reports of parent company Volkswagen Group having major issues with the software of its upcoming high-end electric product. Earlier this month, the German newspaper Automobilwoche wrote about how VW’s software division Cariad was behind schedule with Project Artemis that would spawn Audi, Porsche and Bentley EVs.
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Reports say Cariad’s troubles have led to Herbert Diess’ fall from the helm of the VW Group. Last Friday, the auto conglomerate announced Porsche CEO Oliver Blume would take over from September 1 while retaining his current role at the Zuffenhausen company. Automobilwoche believes Audi’s first EV to use the Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) has also been delayed, and will now launch in 2027.
When the first Bentley without a combustion engine finally arrives, it will serve as the flagship model but will not serve as a replacement for the Mulsanne despite the price being the same. Either version will cost more than €250,000, according to an earlier statement made by Hallmark. It will have around 1,400 horsepower and go from 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) in one and a half seconds.
Bentley’s Five-in-Five plan calls for an additional four EVs to be launched by the end of the decade as the British marque aims to completely discontinue sales of vehicles powered by combustion engines.
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