Bentley wants to “create another segment” with its first fully electric vehicle – a luxury SUV due to launch in 2026.
Details remain relatively scarce, but chief communications officer Wayne Bruce says the as-yet-unnamed EV will be properly unique and sit at the bottom end of the Bentley price spectrum.
“With this first urban luxury urban SUV, we’re going to create another segment. There’s nothing quite like it… the size and shape, with the quality of the craftsmanship and performance at the price point,” Mr Bruce told CarExpert.
“It won’t be Bentayga Speed money. This hasn’t been decided yet, but it will be around entry Bentayga money.”
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For reference, the Bentayga starts from $412,600 before on-road costs for the base V8 in Australia, while the incoming Bentayga Speed commands $513,600 plus on-roads. As such, Bentley’s electric ‘urban SUV’ will likely cost less than $450,000.
Bentley has already confirmed it will be smaller than the Bentayga, which is 5.1 metres long in standard-wheelbase form. Therefore the EV is likely to be similar in size to the Audi Q6 e-tron and Porsche Macan Electric with which it shares a platform.
However, don’t expect Bentley’s EV to feel like a reskinned Volkswagen Group product. Rather, the new SUV will take inspiration from the adventurous EXP 15 sedan concept unveiled back in July.
“It’s a totally different type of Bentley,” said Mr Bruce.
“It’s slightly smaller than the Bentayga, with much more progressive design language.
“When you sit inside it, it’s still recognisably a Bentley, but it’s moving on again. It’s something that you will want, even if you’ve never considered an electric car before.
“Some of the features in the car were teased in EXP 15.”
Key features of the EXP 15 include genre-bending exterior design, a digital front grille, three-seat cabin layout, a full-width digital dash that can be turned off and rotated for a wood veneer surface, and heavy use of materials such as natural woods, silk jacquard and woven metal.
The battery and motor configuration for Bentley’s initial electric foray is still under wraps, but the British marque has confirmed its debut EV can recuperate 100 miles (161km) of range in just 6.5 minutes of charging – a figure that hints to DC fast-charging capability in excess of 350kW.
Power could be sourced from the same big 108kWh lithium-ion battery and dual electric motors found in the new Porsche Cayenne Electric, which generates up to 850kW of power and 1500Nm of torque in top-shelf Turbo form. The same model can also sprint from 0-100km/h in a claimed 2.5 seconds, and travel 623km between charges.
All will be revealed in 2026 when Bentley officially lifts the lid on the first of its many new electric models.
The car is being designed and developed in the UK, and will be produced at the brand’s headquarters in Crewe, about an hour south of Manchester.
Bentley originally planned to introduce its first EV this year, followed by a new electric model annually until 2030, but then wound back those plans due to market conditions and changing regulations.
Back in early 2024, Bentley’s then-CEO Adrian Hallmark also blamed the electric crossover’s delayed launch on technical issues encountered by Porsche and Audi during the development of the shared Platform Premium Electric (PPE).
