There was a time—not long ago—when Bentley seemed ready to sprint headlong into an all-electric future. Five EVs by 2030, a battery-powered successor to the Bentayga, and a clean break from combustion. That plan, like so many ambitious electrification roadmaps, has now met reality. The new strategy? Slow down, recalibrate, and double down on plug-in hybrids.
At the center of that rethink sits the next-generation Bentley Bentayga, due in 2028. It won’t be the EV standard-bearer once envisioned. Instead, it will lead a new wave of Bentley plug-in hybrids—less a revolution, more a carefully judged evolution.
A Reality Check from Stuttgart
Bentley’s pivot isn’t happening in isolation. Parent group dynamics—and more specifically, delays at Porsche—have forced a rewrite. The much-anticipated SSP-based electric architecture, originally destined to underpin the Bentayga EV, has been pushed into the next decade at significant cost. That left Bentley with a choice: wait, or adapt.
Adapt it is.
Rather than sit on its hands, Bentley is shifting the next Bentayga onto the PPC platform—the same bones set to underpin the next Porsche Cayenne and future large Audi Q9. It’s a platform built for flexibility, capable of housing everything from straight-up combustion engines to next-gen plug-in hybrid systems.
The Bridge to Electric—Whether You Like It or Not
Bentley CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser isn’t shy about the reasoning. The demand for high-end EVs hasn’t quite matched the industry’s early optimism, and forcing customers into full electrification risks alienating a loyal base.
That base, crucially, loves the Bentayga. It’s been the brand’s best-seller since its 2015 debut, accounting for roughly half of all sales. In other words, you don’t mess with a winning formula—you refine it.
So the next Bentayga will lean heavily on a new-generation plug-in hybrid setup, likely centered around a 3.0-liter V6. Expect power outputs in the same ballpark as today’s 456 horsepower, but with a meaningful upgrade in electric-only range over the current car’s modest 30 miles. New battery tech and updated electronics should push it into genuinely usable EV territory—finally.
Not Quite Done with Gasoline
For all the electrified talk, Bentley isn’t quite ready to close the book on internal combustion. Select markets—particularly the U.S.—will continue to see pure gasoline variants, likely including V8-powered models. Limited-run specials could even sneak through in stricter regions, depending on legislation.
It’s a pragmatic approach, if not a romantic one. The days of unfiltered, twelve-cylinder excess may be numbered, but Bentley isn’t about to abandon its heritage overnight.
Design: Concept to Reality
Visually, the new Bentayga will take cues from the EXP 15 concept, signaling a subtle but meaningful shift in Bentley’s design language. Expect sharper surfacing, more pronounced lighting signatures, and a closer visual relationship to the upcoming “Urban SUV”—a smaller, electric-leaning model aimed squarely at rivals like the Cayenne Electric and Lotus Eletre.
Underneath, the new architecture brings more than just powertrain flexibility. Advanced air suspension with active ride control, the latest driver-assistance systems, and continued support for the Extended Wheelbase variant—all but guaranteed to remain a favorite among chauffeur-driven buyers—will ensure the Bentayga stays at the sharp end of the luxury SUV class.
The EV Isn’t Dead—Just Delayed
Bentley’s first EV, the so-called “Luxury Urban EV,” is still very much on track, with a reveal expected later this year and deliveries beginning in 2027. But if you’re waiting for a fully electric Bentayga equivalent, you’ll need patience—it won’t arrive until after 2030.
And when it does, it’ll likely pack serious firepower. Sharing PPE architecture with electric Porsche models, outputs north of 1000 horsepower aren’t off the table. Range figures approaching 400 miles? Also likely.
The Big Picture
What Bentley is doing here isn’t retreat—it’s recalibration. The brand is betting that plug-in hybrids, not full EVs, are the right answer for the next decade. It’s a hedge against uncertain demand, evolving legislation, and the simple reality that even ultra-luxury buyers aren’t all ready to go fully electric.
The next Bentayga, then, won’t be a revolution. But it might be something more important: exactly what the market is willing to buy.
Source: Autocar