The first electric vehicle by Bentley is an urban SUV

An SUV slotting in beneath Bentayga, Bentley’s first electric car, is out testing on public roads. It will have an official launch late next year.

At under 5m in length, Bentley calls it “the world’s first true luxury urban SUV”. It is an addition to the Bentley line-up and replaces no existing model. Customer deliveries will begin early in 2027.

The influence of the EXP 15 concept is clear here. There are bluff surfaces and proportions, frameless windows and a low-slung, sleek silhouette. Expect little in the way of off-road ability. Air suspension will feature as standard.

Evidently it will use the VW Group’s Porsche/Audi-developed PPE EV platform. So under the skin it will be a close relative to the similarly sized Porsche Cayenne Electric.

There are no specification details yet but it will presumably share some key components with its Porsche cousin. You can expect it to run a dual-motor, AWD powertrain developing around 300kW in base form and up to around 1000kW peak. A 112kWh battery should deliver range of up to 600km in the base model. With an 800v architecture, it will handle charging speeds of up to 400kW. While labelled as an urban vehicle, long range travel will also be on the agenda.

The camouflaged vehicle was seen the day after Bentley’s CEO, Frank-Steffen Walliser, said that a substantial reorganisation of Porsche’s EV plans will have an impact at Crewe as well.

However, he said it would have no effect on Bentley’s plans to launch a new PHEV or EV every year from 2026. He did add that there would be a balanced powertrain mix to cater to slowing EV demand in the premium sector.

Walliser explained that “customer demand is not yet strong enough to support an all-electric strategy. The luxury market is a lot different today than when we announced [our] Beyond100 [plan].

“Electrification is still our goal but we need to take our customers with us.”

So plans to take the Bentayga, Continental GT and Flying Spur PHEV only have been shelved for the time being. However, the new urban SUV will be solely electric. Bentayga will continue on as Bentley’s ICE power SUV offering.