Bentley will skip over hybrids to focus on 100% electric models

The arrival of hybrid models across all the major brands is almost a certainty, so they will gradually replace the combustion engines that many of them currently use. But one brand wants to go a step further, and it seems someone has set their sights on models that are 100% electric, ruling out combined propulsion systems and aiming for a completely emission-free advance.

In an interview given in recent days, the product and marketing director of Bentley, Hans Holzgartner, has just confirmed that the British brand is going to do exactly that: skip the development of hybrid cars and go straight to electric cars. In this interview, the executive commented that the company does not rule out using hybrid drive, although they could focus on manufacturing fully electric cars.

The reason for this move? Something that may surprise us, but which is one of the motivations very present among all current car manufacturers: presence in the Chinese market. The leaders of that country have decided it is necessary to keep polluting cars out of many of their cities, which already have serious pollution problems, and they will prioritise electric cars over all others, including hybrids.

The idea behind Bentley is to offer saloons equipped with electric motors, since the brand sees this propulsion system as more suitable for cars that are calmer than sports cars, something that seems to run against the rest of the market’s proposals. If they continue with this plan, we could soon see V8 and W12 engines replaced by electric variants.

Bentley engines are smooth and deliver constant, powerful performance, so the image of striking cars, and not only on the outside, would be maintained. Still, this is for now a statement of intent, so we will have to wait quite a while before seeing electric Bentleys on our roads, as majestic as their combustion-engine predecessors.