Bentley Targets EV by 2025

Adrian Hallmark, who heads Volkswagen AG’s Bentley, says there is growing demand for the luxury marquee to produce a fully electric model. But he doesn’t expect battery technology to advance enough to justify such a vehicle until 2025.

A consumer clinic showed that current Bentley owners and aspiring buyers are 30% more interested in a concept model that was fully electric than the same car with a stand-alone piston engine or hybrid-electric drivetrain. Hallmark says Bentley buyers also are 30% more inclined to own an EV than are owners of other super-luxury brands.

Last October, Hallmark indicated Bentley would decide by the end of 2019 whether to develop an EV. Hallmark now says Bentley is in a “rush” to do so—when EVs can meet the brand’s performance metrics and other attributes, including a 400-mile driving range. This will require improvements in battery power density and control modules, plus aerodynamic enhancements and improved tire rolling resistance, according to Bentley.

Hallmark characterizes the 2025 timeline as an “informed estimate” rather than a defined goal for Bentley. Next-generation solid state battery technology, which promises to significantly increase driving range and shorten charging times, likely won’t be commercialized for five to 10 years and initially could cost 20 times current lithium-ion units, he cautions.