Bentley Bentayga Will Probably Have A Hybrid Future, And Soon

Now, if you’re someone fortunate enough to be able to afford a Bentley, you’re probably the kind of person who no longer is bothered about such feeble topics such as fuel consumption. Whatever the price at the pumps are, that’s what it costs. Is it more expensive? Who cares.

But Bentley, as an automaker, does not live in a vacuum, and occasionally has to operate with some environmentally conscious motives – but then have to be very careful to not label that as being an outright reason.

Enter the Bentayga, Bentley’s recently launched ultra-luxurious SUV, which was recently made available to Australian buyers. If you’ll notice, it is one of the only SUVs in this higher strata of the market to, aside from having just one engine choice (a 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12), does not seem to have any plans for an electrified powertrain.

It’s just not Bentley’s style, evidently, at least not now. After all, Bentley has never even hinted at a hybrid version of any of their cars. But if there’s any vehicle in their stable to force their hand into making the shift to semi-electric power, it’s the Bentayga.

Examine the market: Porsche’s Cayenne is now available as a hybrid, and so it’s the Audi Q7, two companies that also share a spot under the Volkswagen umbrella. Even Cadillac’s Escalade went hybrid. A substantial number of the clientele to which Bentley markets Bentayga lives in California, specifically in Los Angeles – a place where it’s cool to be green. The pressure does seem to be on for a hybrid Bentley, if for the sole reason that it would sell more cars.

Bentley’s Asia-Pacific dealer sales manager, David Simpson, during the Bentayga’s Australian media launch, was quick to dismiss claims that Bentley would go hybrid for efficiency reasons. If that were to happen, it would be for performance reasons. He said:

“The hybrid element of what we are talking about here is more akin to your (McLaren) P1 and LaFerrari than it is akin to your (Toyota) Prius.”

“Obviously there is an efficiency gain, but when we talk about a hybrid option it is a performance hybrid and likely that would come out higher than the W12 in terms of its price point. That is something that we would introduce as a performance leader, absolutely.”

The takeaway is that, as much as Bentley seems to be avoiding the advent of electrification, it’s getting to a point where it can no longer be ignored. And they’ve entered a segment of vehicle in which more and more buyers are opting for hybrid technologies, and for good reason, as it the torque and reduced consumptions/emissions would be most evident.

We’ll see how soon Bentley explores this possibility. It’s not only possible, but probably, that they’ve already been experimenting with electric motor propulsion, what with so much expertise at their disposal from the Volkswagen Group.