Bentley shifts focus to hybrid vehicles

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Bentley, the British luxury car brand that originally planned to launch five new electric cars by 2035, has chosen to shift its focus to the production of hybrid vehicles. According to an Arena EV broadcast on Sunday (22/3), the company has decided to prioritise hybrid vehicle production over rushing to launch full electric cars, as it assesses that consumer interest in expensive battery-powered models is lower than anticipated. “We must rethink and recalculate our entire product line and all future offerings,” said Bentley CEO Frank Walliser to Auto Express. “If you compare our planning to two years ago, everything looks very different,” he added. In the coming years, Bentley will focus its energies on plug-in hybrid vehicles. Currently, the company offers hybrid versions of the Continental GT and Flying Spur, which combine a V8 engine with an electric motor. By continuing to use petrol and hybrid engines for the time being, the company can keep generating revenue while waiting for more people to want electric cars. Nevertheless, Bentley still wants to release its first electric car in 2027. They call this model the Urban SUV. The company states that this new SUV will be able to add 160 km of range in seven minutes when using a fast charger. Frank Walliser said the company wants to fully adopt electric cars one day. However, the company does not plan to release other electric models after the 2027 SUV at least until 2030.