Bentley Beyond 100

Bentleys to be All-Electric from 2030

Having celebrated its centenary in 2019, Bentley is now firmly focused on the next 100 years, revealing a commitment to become a fully-electric brand by 2030. The Beyond100 programme will transform Bentley into an end-to-end carbon neutral business over the same period, including transforming its factory in Crewe to carbon-positive, actively reducing levels of carbon in the atmosphere.

Adrian Hallmark, Chairman and CEO of Bentley, outlined the staged development of Beyond100, first with the launch of two new plug-in hybrid models in 2021. Two years later, in 2023, every single model in the range will be offered with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, before the first all-electric – and fully carbon neutral – Bentley arrives in 2025. By 2026 buyers will only be offered fully electric or plug-in hybrid models before, in 2030, the plug-in hybrids are phased out as the entire Bentley range becomes purely electric.

Hallmark said: “Since 1919, Bentley has defined grand luxury touring. Being at the forefront of progress is part of our DNA – the original Bentley boys were pioneers and leaders. Now, as we look Beyond 100, we will continue to lead by reinventing the company and becoming the world’s benchmark luxury car business.

 

“Driving this change includes, and also goes beyond our products, delivering a paradigm shift throughout our business with credibility, authenticity and integrity. Within a decade, Bentley will transform from a 100-year-old luxury car company to a new, sustainable, wholly ethical role model for luxury.”

Bentleys of the future will not just use low-emitting powertrains, but they will be conscientiously built too. The EXP 100 GT concept, revealed in 2019, gives a glimpse of this future, featuring a multitude of sustainable materials. These included 5,000-year-old copper-infused Riverwood, traditionally produced wool carpets and a leather-like textile upholstery made from a bi-product of wine-making. Bentley will continue to use only sustainably sourced materials throughout its current, and next generation of cars.

In tandem with the development of the product line-up, Bentley Motors will continue to invest in the sustainability of its facilities in Crewe. By the end of 2025, the company intends to reduce its factory environmental impact by 75 per cent (compared with 2010), focusing on energy consumption, CO2 emissions, waste water, use of solvents in the paint process and becoming plastic neutral. This will result in a climate positive factory by 2030, actively reducing levels of carbon in the atmosphere, while in parallel the business invests in renewable energy and forestation projects.