One of the last Volkswagen Group brands to shift toward electrification, Bentley currently offers just one hybrid model, based on the Bentayga SUV. A hybrid version of the Flying Spur is also set to follow soon, but Bentley won't unveil its first all-electric vehicle until 2025. And a new report says that the EV won't be based on an existing vehicle. Instead, it will share a new platform developed by Audi and, according to a new report, it will be a high-riding sedan.

The first all-electric Bentley will spawn from Project Artemis

Although previous rumors hinted that Bentley will eventually offer an electric version of the current Bentayga, the British company has different plans. According to Autocar, Bentley's first EV will be based on a bespoke Volkswagen Group platform that's being developed by Project Artemis. The latter is an Audi-led initiative to develop an advanced architecture for luxury electric vehicles.

This project is headed by Alex Hitzinger, former chief of Porsche's endurance racing program, and its purpose is to develop a cutting-edge EV platform that will adopt state-of-the-art battery tech and high levels of semi-autonomous capability. This architecture will most likely debut in Audi's upcoming flagship model, the A9. Slotted above the familiar A8, the A9 should debut sometime in 2024.

Bentley will take the same platform for its first EV, but the architecture will be modified in Crewe in order to meet the company's needs. While the Audi A9 will be a large coupe-style sedan, Bentley's first electric model will take a different shape.

Bentley's first EV will be a high-riding sedan

Naturally, we've all been waiting for Bentley to announce an all-electric version of the Continental or the Bentayga. But it seems Bentley is going in a different direction with a vehicle described as a "high-riding saloon." But this doesn't necessarily mean that it will be some sort of weird contraption that marries the body of a four-door sedan and the suspension and ride height of an SUV.

The EV will be inspired by the EXP 100 GT, a sleek-looking concept grand tourer unveiled in 2019. Essentially a very futuristic take on the Continental GT, the EXP 100 GT was fitted with four electric motors that deliver a combined output of 800 to 1,340 horsepower, so maybe that's an indication of things to come drivetrain-wise.

However, Adrian Hallmark says that the upcoming EV is still in the conceptual phase and that a specific design has yet to be implemented.

"We’re not frozen in terms of the bodystyle and so on. We know the dimensions and the hard points that we’ve got to work with, but that’s only the basic elements, maybe 20% of the work. We’ve also worked on a lot of different options in terms of design of the first car, and over the next three to six months we’ll formalise those, lock and load and be ready to go. But we’re still in that searching phase, and not in the implementation phase yet," Hallmark told Autocar.

I guess that means we could see a concept car or even a prototype toward the end of 2021.

All Bentleys will feature some sort of electrification from 2026 onward

Hallmark also confirmed that all Bentley models will be either fully electric or plug-in hybrid from 2026 onward. This basically means that the existing nameplates will continue with hybrid drivetrains. The Bentayga is already available with a gas-electric powetrain and both the Flying Spur and the Continental GT will become available with a similar combo by 2022.

“By 2025, we’re predicting 110kWh to 120kWh batteries will be available, which starts to put bigger cars in a position where you can get 400-500 km range,” said Hallmark. “You need 150kWh-plus to get a full-size SUV to have the equivalent performance of a combustion-engined vehicle, which is why hybrids are so important in playing a part for bigger vehicles in the next five to 10 years," he added.

There's no specific info on whether the Bentayga, Flying Spur and Continental GT will make a full transition to all-electric power or they will be replaced by brand-new nameplates in the future.