Bentley recently announced plans to introduce five electric vehicles and now CEO Adrian Hallmark has revealed a handful of details about them.
Speaking at Autocar’s business webinar, Hallmark said the company’s first electric vehicle will begin testing later this year. He added the exterior design is roughly 80-85% complete as the company has “some work to do to further improve what we’ve already decided.” Likewise, the interior is 95% complete and it will undoubtedly focus on luxury.
While Hallmark wouldn’t confirm rumors the company’s first electric vehicle will be a crossover, he suggested their upcoming EVs will have unique styling that is “more progressive than some of our current designs.” He went onto clarify the design of their first EV won’t be radical, but will “signal we’re entering a new era with this vehicle.”
Hallmark added the upcoming model will be “among the very best for [aerodynamic] efficiency” and this likely means we can expect EV-specific styling touches such as a fully enclosed grille. The executive noted part of the efficiency push will result in narrower vehicles, but the company’s generous wheelbases won’t be shortened in the name of increased range.
While the company’s first EV seems to be coming along nicely, Hallmark revealed Bentley already has designs for their four other electric vehicles. It remains unclear how far along these designs are, but it’s probably safe to assume the company has a general idea of what’s coming up.
As we recently noted, electric vehicles are the wave of the future but recharging them is a decidedly low-tech affair as they need to be plugged in. Hallmark knows this and seems to think the world’s elite won’t want to deal with the hassle of plugging in their vehicle. As a result, Bentley is looking at “hands-free [charging] solutions, whether that’s inductive or robotic.”
Last but not least, Hallmark noted the company’s current products are “in a very tight price band” and he’d “like to either go up or down in order to exploit the brand further in terms of its potential.” This seems to suggest some of the upcoming EVs could be more affordable than their current models, while others could be more expensive.
Keyword: Bentley To Begin Testing Their First EV Later This Year, Set To Arrive In 2025