Bentley ‘Urban SUV’ to headline revised Beyond100+ product strategy

Bentley is well on track to reveal its first all-electric model in the closing months of 2026, with the newcomer taking the form of what the marque calls an ‘Urban SUV’ ahead of other new EV and plug-in hybrid models arriving over the following five years. This new product commitment forms the latest iteration of the Beyond100+ strategy, in which the British brand acknowledges that EV take-up has been slower than expected, therefore shifting its development strategy to also include plug-in hybrid powertrains, which have already been extremely popular. 

The Beyond100+ plan will still kick off with an all-electric Urban SUV, and the model will be built at the Pyms Lane plant in Crewe, the luxury brand’s traditional home. Bentley has also confirmed that the new model will be under five metres long and run on the latest PPE platform, which has been co-developed between Audi and Porsche. We can expect that the car will be a few centimetres longer than the equivalent Audi Q6 e-tron, and share many of that model’s cutting-edge battery and chassis technologies, including an 800V electrical architecture and high-end dual-motor set-up.

We also expect that some of the new-era hardware that both Audi and Porsche utilise, such as rear-wheel steering and adaptive air suspension, will be on the list. However, Bentley has yet to confirm whether it will adopt an existing battery package, which currently sits at 100kWh on both the top-spec Audi and Porsche models, or adopt a new-generation battery pack. This is unsurprising, considering that we’re still 24 months away from the newcomer’s reveal.

In any case, the new model will embody Bentley’s next-generation design language already previewed by models such as the Batur and new Continental GT. This will be matched to an all-new interior that will be just as opulent and finely crafted as any current Bentley’s, but with a big upgrade in cabin tech.

Speaking to Auto Express, CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser offered up a bit more detail, saying: “The concept is super-versatile – you can use it for long range or you can use it in the city. We also want to attract new customers, and we think with that concept it really adds something new to Bentley.” He also made it clear that this is not a replacement for anything in the firm’s current line-up, either. 

What the single teaser image Bentley released doesn’t reveal is that, while the car will be urban-focused, it won’t have a fastback-style sloping roofline. It will instead retain a more traditional and upright stance, with a long bonnet and typical curved haunch over the rear wheels. 

This announcement does rule out the use of the VW Group’s even newer SSP platform for this specific model, but we do know that the Urban SUV will be only the first of five new models that the brand still intends on launching, one every year, beyond 2027. These will utilise both plug-in and all-electric powertrains.

Before then, however, Bentley has also revealed that it’ll be launching a new high-performance Bentayga variant in 2025, which will feature a high-output ICE powertrain without a plug-in hybrid module attached. Despite Porsche offering a similar plug-in system in its updated Cayenne, the new Bentayga will not adopt a PHEV V8 powertrain for the moment. It will instead utilise a high-output version of the same 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 without plug-in hybrid assistance, slipping the car into limited production before the company commits to a plug-in and pure-EV range from 2026 onwards.

Bentley to go electric-only by 2035

Bentley has also promised to launch a new electrified model every year for the next decade, which includes both pure-electric cars and plug-in hybrids, with all of them being “designed and developed” in Crewe. The goal now is for Bentley to become an electric-only brand in 2035, not 2030, as previously suggested.

In terms of what else is coming in the near future, we can expect more variants of the new Continental GT and Flying Spur Speed that launched this year. A new petrol Bentayga is also on the horizon. 

However, when asked if Bentley will offer hybrid and pure-electric powertrains in the same model, Rabe quickly responded: “No, we think that would be the wrong answer for a luxury brand to have a so-called multi-traction platform.”

“The package demands are so different whether you have batteries and electric engines, or whether you have a plug-in hybrid powertrain,” he said. “Therefore, in a luxury segment you would never reach the optimum if you would do a multi-traction platform.

“Multi-traction platform would be basically a platform which can do all, but something which can do all sometimes is not the best and we want to do the best.”

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