No more SUVs from Bentley – for now

The Bentley Bentayga will stand alone as the SUV standard-bearer for the 100-year-old British brand.

There are no plans to re-shape the Bentayga into a four-door coupe, or to slide a smaller SUV into the Bentley line-up, at least in the short-term.

According to Adrian Hallmark, president and CEO of Bentley Motors, the Bentayga is more than enough for now.

Speaking exclusively to carsales following Bentley's 100th anniversary celebration at Crewe in England this month, Hallmark has was clear about the British brand’s SUV plans.

“Direct answer? We are not looking at that,” Hallmark said bluntly in response to our question about additional SUV models.

“Is there an imminent, or very near, coupe? No.”

But Hallmark didn’t deny the potential for SUVs beyond the current Bentayga.

“Are we looking at it right now? No,” he said.

“Could we imagine doing different twists on SUVs in the future? Yes.”

Hallmark says the plan is to groom and improve the Bentayga through the life-cycle of the current model, but is not giving anything away.

“We’ll improve it through technology. We haven’t even scratched the surface of its potential.”

Hallmark says the Bentayga has been a runaway success that has still not reached its full potential.

“Bentayga is almost 50 per cent of our sales, from a standing start. It’s already the best-selling Bentley in the company’s history.

“We did 10,000 sales last year with 50 per cent of our potential range. The cars we are just launching, the new Flying Spur and Continental GT Cabriolet, will add to that.

“We’ve just gone from a loss-making position to a profitable first half in 2019. That doesn’t happen by luck.”

With the fully-electric Bentley EXP 100 GT concept car as is figurehead, and growing restrictions on combustion vehicles in major European capitals, Hallmark is bullish about Bentley’s battery-car plans.

“We have to get up earlier, go to bed later, and work harder in the middle,” he said.

“We want to get the first battery-electric vehicle on the road before 2025. If we can do it a bit quicker, we will.

“The gateway criteria for that is first we have to build a great Bentley, then we have to deliver great Bentley performance.

“Battery developments are there. It’s either the next step in lithium-ion or the first step into solid-state. There is more investment coming in battery technology in the next 10 years than the previous 100.

“We are going to see breakthroughs in the next 10 years that we cannot predict at the moment.”