Bentley’s First EV Is Coming in 2027, but Other Electric Models Have Been Scraped

Bentley isn’t ready to turn away from EVs—at least, not yet.

The British luxury marque still plans to release its first fully battery-powered model early next year, according to Car and Driver. It’s now also expected to be the company’s only EV through at least the end of the decade.

The latter news comes from no less a reliable source than the automaker’s CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser. Speaking to the press on Monday following the release of the company’s latest financial results, the executive revealed that its parent company, VW Group, will no longer move forward with the previously planned Scalable Systems Platform. The hardware had been set to serve as the architecture for multiple future electric Bentleys, including a sedan.

The company’s first EV, which is widely expected to be an SUV, will be unaffected by the move. It, like corporate cousin Porsche’s new Cayenne Electric, will be built on VW’s Premium Platform Electric (PPE). Other EVs, including a potential sedan, are now up in the air, though. Walliser told his audience that a second battery-powered vehicle, if it is to come, will not arrive before 2030.

Little is known about the upcoming EV, other than what platform it will be based on and that it remains on pace to debut later this year before going on sale in 2027. A teaser image from late 2024, along with spy shots, has led many to believe that the vehicle will be an SUV. The automaker’s first SUV, the Bentayga (picture up top), has been its best-selling model since its debut in 2016. On Monday, Walliser did confirm vehicle will only be available as an EV, and that there are no plans to retrofit it with an ICE or hybrid powertrain.

At the beginning of the decade, Bentley, like so many of its peers, seemed to be heading toward an all-electric future. That is no longer the case, with the company instead choosing to double down on partial electrification, including in the new Continental GT and Flying Spur, both of which come with plug-in hybrid powertrains. Walliser did reveal that the company is seeing renewed interest in purely gas-powered, suggesting that traditional ICE powertrains could continue to be offered, though likely only in exclusive models.

This story was originally published on Robb Report USA.