Bentley considering all-electric model

Bentley's design team has drawn an all-electric car for the brand but there is no certainty it will make production.

New design director Stefan Sielaff revealed to Autocar his team had been charged with provoking debate within the company and that an all-electric Bentley was among the projects he had presented to the board to spark debate.

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"Of course we are looking - and by sketching out proposals we are provoking emotions," he said. "Not every idea we have is for production, but the creation of something physical to debate allows us to test new ideas. We don't want to be thinking in one direction all the time - we want to challenge conventions."

The Bentley Bentayga will be sold with a plug-in hybrid option from 2018, but Bentley's board has mixed views on full electrification.

Head of sales and marketing Kevin Rose acknowledged the range and charging shortcomings of current electric tech, but added: "I'd like to offer an electric car. It's far from certain, but customer demand is growing and it is on our agenda."

However, Bentley boss Wolfgang Durheimer was more cautious, saying: "Plug-in hybrid will be available on all our models in time, but I don't see that as stop-gap technology. It will give customers the range they are used to with the capability of running emissions-free in cities, for instance. That is a good compromise.

"Full electric is less certain. I don't see it as a priority at the moment for our customers, nor as being crucial to our brand values."