Bentley's first EV is delayed, deliveries only set to start in 2027

Bentley's first EV has been delayed. Originally planned to arrive next year, it will now only be announced in 2026, with deliveries starting no sooner than 2027. The delay has to do with software issues - the same ones that delayed the Porsche Macan EV and Audi Q6 e-tron, which have both since been unveiled.

The Bentley EV in question will use a version of the PPE architecture that's currently shared by Porsche and Audi. Aside from software, battery and architecture issues have also contributed to its delay - Bentley apparently wants to reach a range of 373 miles with its first EV.

Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark said:

Because of the delay of the first BEV and because of all the changes around us, we are investing more in hybrids. We have seen an uptick in the acceptance and demand for hybrids. We expected a drop-off of hybrids in 2028, 2029 and 2030 but now we expect that could actually grow and continue. It gives us more opportunity and it insures us against slower adoption of BEVs. If we put significant investment into a hybrid in 2026-27, we need to run that until 2031 maybe or 2032 to get the amortization for the investment that we put in.

Bentley was, before today, planning to go full electric by 2030, but now that's been pushed back to 2033. Its first EV won't be an EV-ified version of an existing model, it will be an entirely new car. This is likely to be based on the EXP 100 concept shown above.

Source 1 | Source 2