Bentley will go from being the world’s largest producer of fossil V12 engines to becoming a carbon-free company in ten years. They are in the ultra-luxury class, where buyers care zero and nothing about either purchase or fuel prices.
Now they will cut out all fossil fuels and invest fully in electricity, and that will happen by 2030.
Bentley’s announcement occurred during their Beyond 100 Strategy. The name is not random. Bentley Motors is 80 years old and thanks to Volkswagen on the owner side, 100 years is within reach.
The electrification will take place gradually. The first rechargeable hybrid is already in place with the Bentayga, and all models will have a rechargeable alternative in 2023. In 2025, the first electric car will arrive and in 2026, all cars will be either electric or rechargeable hybrids.
Before 2030, ie in just a few years, petrol-powered engines will be phased out completely.
Carbon free
And they are well underway already. Last year, their factory in Crewe was certified carbon neutral. By the end of this year, all suppliers will have passed a sustainability audit to verify zero emission requirements.
In the future, by the end of 2025, the company intends to reduce the factory’s environmental impact by focusing on energy consumption, CO2 emissions, wastewater, the use of solvents in the painting process and becoming plastic neutral.
This, the company claims, will result in a climate-positive factory by 2030, which actively reduces carbon levels in the atmosphere, while the company invests in renewable energy and forest projects.
When Bentley celebrates 100 years, they will be a new sustainable ethical role model for luxury, they claim.
New materials
We have already got a taste of Bentley’s electric future with the all-electric 2-door coupe EXP100 GT Consept. As exciting as the driveline and design was the choice of material, for the ultra-luxury to last.
In the interior we find, among other things, 5,000-year-old copper-infused wood, traditionally produced wool rugs and a leather-like textile coating made from a by-product of winemaking.
Today, Bentley has five models. The bestseller Bentayga, the sedan Flying Spur, Continental GT Coupe and Cabriolet, as well as the special model Baclar from Mulliner.
The Bentley Continental GT was one of the candidates for our Car of the Year award last year. Vote for your favorites this year: