Bentley to launch its first EV – a sleek urban SUV – in 2026
Finally, Bentley says it has found the winning formula to giving an all-electric vehicle the Bentley stamp of approval. It’ll scream luxury and likely cost a bloody fortune.
The British ultra-luxury brand, owned by Volkswagen AG, is once again pushing back its target to exclusively offer BEVs by five years to 2035, but says it is launching a “luxury urban SUV” – its first all-electric vehicle – in 2026.
Back in 2018, Bentley started making the transition with its Bentayga Hybrid, and now the brand offers plug-in hybrid versions of the Continental GT and Flying spur.
Bentley, a brand synonymous with lavish and powerful cars with 12- and 8-cylinder engines that can cost in the millions for special editions, also said it plans to offer a new EV or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle each year until 2035 – the company had originally targeted the end of this decade for going all electric, but it has pushed that back by five years.
“To be honest, there is not a lot of demand [for BEVs] from today’s Bentley customers,” CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser said during a press conference yesterday, as reported by Reuters.
But he is not ruling out legislative changes and a new generation of consumers who want a sleek, expensive EV.
“But we see there are new customers out that definitely want to have a very modern car.”
“Legislation, for sure, is driving electrification … but also competition,” Walliser said.
He did add the caveat that the 2035 target could shift even more, as some global regions are electrifying more slowly. “Some parts of the world may be even slower than 2035,” he said. “We listen carefully to our customers… and what they want to buy.”
The company ended production of its famed W12 engine this year, and now it focuses on PHEVs with 8- or 6-cylinder engines. And it says it’ll keep making PHEVs “as long as markets and customers demand it,” said Matthias Rabe, head of Bentley’s research and development. He also noted that Bentley may continue to release new ICE vehicles in the years to come as well.
Bentley to launch its first all-electric vehicle in 2026
Bentley’s first BEV was initially expected to be produced starting next year. Former CEO Adrian Hallmark had said prior that the plans to launch a new EV had been delayed due to software issues as well as designing a vehicle to Bentley’s exacting standards, rather than market conditions.
The company only hinted at the shape of the new EV with a sketch, which shows a similar profile to the Bentayga SUV – for reference, the 2025 model of the Bentayga starts at around $208,000. But it’ll be more compact, Walliser noted, at under 5,000 mm (16.4 feet) in length, so similar in size to the Porsche Cayenne or Audi Q7, and it’ll be built on the same platform as the upcoming Porsche Cayenne EV.
While Bentley didn’t share any statistics about the new model, it did note that range and charging speed will be top priorities. And of course, customers can expect the Bentley signature craftsmanship that are essential to the brand: “We don’t want to make just any electric car; we want to make a Bentley,” said Walliser.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Environment
U.S. crude oil falls below $60 a barrel to lowest since 2021 on tariff-fueled recession fears
A view shows disused oil pump jacks at the Airankol oil field operated by Caspiy Neft in the Atyrau Region, Kazakhstan April 2, 2025.
Pavel Mikheyev | Reuters
U.S. oil prices dropped below $60 a barrel on Sunday on fears President Donald Trump’s global tariffs would push the U.S., and maybe the world, into a recession.
Futures tied to U.S. West Texas intermediate crude fell more than 3% to $59.74 on Sunday night. The move comes after back-to-back 6% declines last week. WTI is now at the lowest since April 2021.
Worries are mounting that tariffs could lead to higher prices for businesses, which could lead to a slowdown in economic activity that would ultimately hurt demand for oil.
Oil futures, 5 years
The tariffs, which are set to take effect this week, “would likely push the U.S. and possibly global economy into recession this year,” according to JPMorgan. The firm on Thursday raised its odds of a recession this year to 60% following the tariff rollout, up from 40%.
Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.
Despite the dramatic slowdown of Tesla’s US deliveries, sales of electric vehicles overall have perked up in recent months, with Illinois’ EV adoption rate well above the Q1 uptick nationally. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the number of new EVs registered across the state totaled 9,821 January through March, compared with “just” 6,535 EVs registered in the state during the same period in 2024.
Those numbers represent more than 50% growth in EV registrations – far beyond the expected 12% first-quarter increase nationally being projected by Cox Automotive. (!)
What’s going on in Illinois?
While President Trump and Elmo were running for re-election, they campaigned on the threat promise of canceling the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. Along with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois’ Governor JB Pritzker made countermoves – launching a $4,000 rebate for new electric cars and up to $1,500 for the purchase of a new electric motorcycle.
At the same time, the state’s largest utility, ComEd, launched a $90 million EV incentive program featuring a new Point of Purchase initiative to deliver instant discounts to qualifying business and public sector customers who make the switch to electric vehicles. That program has driven a surge in Class 3-6 medium duty commercial EVs, which are eligible fro $20-30,000 in utility rebates on top of federal tax credits and other incentives (Class 1-2 EVs are eligible for up to $7,500).
We covered the launch of those incentives when the program was announced at Chicago Drives Electric last year, but the message here is simple: incentives work.
SOURCES: Chicago Business, Ray Cunningham; featured image by the author.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
The electric construction equipment experts at XCMG just released a new, 25 ton electric crawler excavator ahead of bauma 2025 – and they have their eye on the global urban construction, mine operations, and logistical material handling markets.
Powered by a high-capacity 400 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery capable of delivering up to 8 hours of continuous operation, the XE215EV electric excavator promises uninterrupted operation at a lower cost of ownership and with even less downtime than its diesel counterparts.
XCMG is delivering on part of that reduced downtime promise with the lower maintenance and easier repair needs of electric equipment, and delivering on the rest of it with lickety-quick DC fast charging that can recharge the machine’s massive battery in 1.5-2 hours … but that’s not the slick bit. The XCMG XE125EV can be powered up without leaving the job site thanks to its BYD battery swap technology.
We first covered XCMG and its battery swap technology back in January, and covered similar battery-swap tech being developed by MOOG Construction offshoot ZQUIP, as well – but while XCMG’s battery tech has been in production for several years, it’s still not widely known about in the West (even within the industry).
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at the December 2024 bauma China, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck that features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. And that’s too bad, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience an electric truck putting down 1070 hp more than 16,000 lb-ft of torque!?
Easy in, easy out
The best part? All of the company’s heavy equipment assets – from excavators to terminal tractors to dump trucks and wheel loaders – all use the same 400 kWh BYD battery packs, Milwaukee tool style. That means an equipment fleet can utilize x number of vehicles with a fraction of the total battery capacity and material needs of other asset brands. That’s not just a smart use of limited materials, it’s a smarter use of energy.
You can check out all the XE215EV’s specs at this tear sheet, and get an in-person look at the Chinese company’s latest electric excavator this week in Munich, Germany.
SOURCE | IMAGES: XCMG.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway