At all levels and for various reasons, car manufacturers are delaying their road plans towards electric cars. This particularly affects luxury brands.
Last month, Aston Martin announced that its first electric car planned for 2025 (the Rapide E having never been delivered) would ultimately only see the light of day a year later, due to lower demand than the manufacturer expected. would have anticipated. “Requirement [pour les voitures électriques], in any case at a price equivalent to that of Aston Martin, does not correspond to what we imagined two years ago”declared the brand’s general manager, Lawrence Stroll, pointing out the existence of“a much stronger demand” for plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Bentley was also due to unveil its first electric model next year, as planned in the Beyond100 plan announced in 2020, but we will again have to wait until 2026. The reason given this time is not insufficient demand, but a delay in development, particularly regarding the software. Remember that Bentley’s first electric car should be based on the PPE platform co-developed by Porsche and Audi, which was significantly delayed and was finally launched this year with the electric Macan and Q6 e-tron.
On the other hand, Bentley joins Aston Martin in terms of its emphasis on plug-in hybrids over the coming years. “Due to the delay of the first electric vehicle and all the changes around us, we are investing more in hybrid models”explained to the press Adrian Hallmark, the CEO of Bentley, quoted by Automotive News Europe. “This gives us more opportunities and protects us against slower adoption of electric vehicles”.
Internal combustion engines will continue at Bentley after 2030
As a result, if the brand still plans to abandon thermal versions without hybridization and in passing its famous W12 in 2026, the transition to all electric from 2030 is called into question. “If we invest significantly in a hybrid vehicle in 2026-27, we will have to operate it until 2031, or even 2032, to amortize the investment we have made”explains Adrian Hallmark.
For its part, Rolls-Royce, which presented its first electric car in 2023, the Specter coupe, still plans to abandon thermal engines in 2030. The brand, which is part of the BMW group, would not encounter any demand problems for his first electric car.