Bentley has pushed its plans to have an all-electric luxury car line-up back by a further five years to 2035 due to low interest from its well-heeled clientele.
“If it’s today’s Bentley customers, we have to be honest – there’s not a lot of demand," said chief executive Frank-Steffen Walliser.
“But we see there are new customers that definitely want to have a very modern car.
“And this is our target group. We are sure we can also convince a lot of the existing customers, once we have had them in the car.”
Bentley also confirmed it would sell petrol/EV hybrids until "at least" 2035 with one new model planned for its factory in Crewe from 2025 to 2036.
Its first fully electric model will be launched in 2026 and will be an urban SUV it said in the statement.
Walliser's comments echo those of its German parent, VW, which has massively scaled back its electric ambitions due to low take-up and a surge of bargain-price imports from China.
Bentley sold 23% fewer of its super-priced cars in the first half of 2024 compared to a year earlier with its Bentayga luxury SUV accounting for more than 40%.
A Bentley costs anything from £170,000 to £1.7 million depending on how much customisation a buyer wants.