Despite the huge success of the Bentley Bentayga, the 100-year-old British automaker will not be adding another SUV to its line-up anytime soon, CarSales reports. There will not be a Bentayga coupe, nor a smaller SUV, because according to company president and CEO Adrian Hallmark, “the Bentayga is more than enough for now.”
“Is there an imminent, or very near, coupe? No. Are we looking at it right now? No. Could we imagine doing different twists on SUVs in the future? Yes,” Hallmark added. For the time being, the plan is to groom and improve the Bentayga through its current life-cycle, with Hallmark stating that the car will be improved through technology. “We haven’t even scratched the surface of its potential.”
Hallmark went on to say that the Bentayga has been a “runaway success,” accounting for 50% of the brand’s total sales. The SUV has already become the best-selling Bentley in the company’s history, but Hallmark reiterated that it has still not reached its full potential.
“We did 10,000 sales last year with 50% 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.”
Meanwhile, Bentley is also developing a full-electric luxury grand tourer previewed by the EXP 100 GT concept car. “We have to get up earlier, go to bed later, and work harder in the middle. We want to get the first battery-electric vehicle on the road before 2025. If we can do it a bit quicker, we will,” Hallmark explained.
“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.”
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