Luxury car maker Bentley has ditched plans to axe internal combustion engined (ICE) vehicles by 2035, following the lead of fellow Volkswagen Group-owned brands Porsche and Audi.
That means there will be petrol-powered versions of the next generation of Bentley models, including the Bentayga large SUV, the Continental GT coupe/convertible and the Flying Spur sedan, after all.
Previously, these were planned to be plug-in hybrid (PHEV) or electric vehicles (EV) only, with ICE power due to be phased out with the current models.
Under its ‘Beyond100’ strategy announced in 2020, Bentley had pledged to sell only EVs by 2030.
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The British brand pushed this timing back to 2035 last year, citing slower than anticipated adoption of electric luxury vehicles, after teasing its first EV ahead of its scheduled 2026 debut.
According Autocar, given Porsche and Audi have now recommitted to producing ICE models beyond 2035 – and dropped their ambitious EV sales targets – Bentley will follow suit.
It’s somewhat a given as the three Volkswagen-owned brands share vehicle architecture and powertrain technologies to amortise development costs.
“There is a dip in demand for luxury electric vehicles, and customer demand is not yet strong enough to support an all-electric strategy,” Bentley CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser told Autocar.
“The luxury market is a lot different today than when we announced ‘Beyond100’. Electrification is still our goal, but we need to take our customers with us.”
The historic auto brand said it will still go ahead with the launch of a new PHEV or EV model each year from 2026.
Last week, Porsche announced plans to include flagship petrol versions of its next-generation 718 Boxster/Cayman sports car twins, which were previously planned to be electric-only.
In addressing what it called ‘new market realities’, Porsche also confirmed it will offer an ICE version of its new flagship SUV to sit above the Cayenne, codenamed ‘K1’, which was previously also set to be a dedicated EV.
Similarly, while the second-generation Macan mid-size SUV was released in 2024 as an EV-only model, Porsche is now developing a replacement for the original Macan to be sold alongside it by 2027, powered by petrol and hybrid engines.
These moves have cost the Volkswagen Group billions in development costs.
Last year Porsche axed its target for 80 per cent of sales to be EVs by 2030, and Porsche CEO Oliver Blume reportedly told employees: “Our business model in its current form… no longer works.”
Audi recently cancelled its RS6 e-tron electric wagon, again citing lack of demand for high-end EVs, and Audi Australia recently said it would be “lost without diesel”.
Last year, Audi cancelled its plan to sell only EVs by 2033, and is now developing a new sports car range previewed by the hitherto electric-only Concept C at the Munich show last month.
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