The BEYOND100 plan to drag Bentley into the 21st Century has us asking, is now your time to purchase a Bentley?..
Within the next 10 years Bentley Motors as we know it will be a thing of the past. During a press release published on 5th November 2020, Bentley claimed they will sell only fully electric vehicles by 2030 – so, the countdown is on to get your hands on a soon to be rare, traditionally petrol powered Bentley.
What is happening?
In short, soon you will not be able to purchase a new, petrol powered Bentley…
In 2021 Bentley plan to release two hybrid vehicles allowing their customers to opt between electrical power and the more traditional petrol power. During a press release and interview, Dr. Matthias Rabe, a member of the board at Bentley Motors claimed that by 2026, Bentley will sell only hybrid or electric vehicles, and said ‘the future of Bentley will be fully electric’. It seems that new times for Bentley are ahead, meaning new job opportunities and new markets for the 100-year-old British car manufacturing powerhouse.
BEYOND100
Within the self-named plan ‘BEYOND100’ the 100-year-old British car manufacturer that is Bentley Motors, who are known for their 12-cylinder petrol engines will be shifting to offer only plug in vehicles. It has been claimed by Bentley that by making the shift to 100% electrical power, will make the company ‘financially more resilient’ as well as ‘recession proof’ – bold words going into a new, unknown market for Bentley. However, it is certain that this shift comes from a lack of future for traditionally powered cars, even more so given the zero congestion zones coming into play across the UK.
Bentley have promised to offer truly sustainable luxury and to reinvent every aspect of its business to ensure not only the cars they produce are sustainable but also the way in which they are made. They plan to be end to end carbon neutral by 2030 and for their factories to become carbon positive, further offsetting the hefty carbon footprint they have developed over the last 100 years of manufacturing. An ambitious plan being driven by a transformation program aimed across Bentley in its entirety, including its operations and its products.
During an interview, Chairman and Chief Executive of Bentley Motors, Adrian Hallmark stated confidently, ‘The cars will look as inspirational and glorious as they do today and whilst we are already very proud of the current sustainability of the car, for example; the woods and leathers that we use, we are going to remove any question mark from all of our future products… we are on a mission’. Bentley are not only focusing on the engine power but also the sustainability of its interior features / products and where they are sourced – we like this, Bentley aren’t doing things by halves and it seems that they are very dedicated to making this shift.
What does this mean for the market?
In short, you have only 5 years left to purchase a new, traditionally powered British classic Bentley and we’d suggest you do it sooner rather than later. The shift to electric will of course make the petrol powered engines harder to come by in years to come, driving the market price upwards as we get closer to their indefinite halt on petrol engine production. We anticipate that this will drive up the market of other British luxury car manufacturers as purchasers will anticipate them following suit in the not too distant future. Rolls Royce has already announced that due to the zero emission zones announced in central London that they have been lead to produce its first ever EV, which looks pretty impressive and rumor has it, it may have the technology to drive its self (we’ll see).
The announcement from Bentley earlier this month will unquestionably push Bentley lovers to make their final purchases. This may be a clever way of Bentley securing their last sales and pushing the final cars off their shelves before going fully electric. No doubt classic car collectors and dealers will be rushing to get their hands on what one day will be a rare, sought after classic and if they’re smart, they will keep them in mint condition with minimal miles because one day, these petrol powered Bentley’s will be a collector’s item that will be hard to find.
Our advise… invest now if you can, store safely and maintain the vehicle as much as possible whilst driving it as little as possible. Keep the car in good condition and the miles to a minimum if you want a great return on your investment.