Bentley debuts first EV, a Merino-lined luxury SUV targeting younger buyers

The 173,000 euros electric SUV is Bentley's cheapest model and adds a fourth model line as the Volkswagen-owned brand takes a more cautious approach to electrification

By William Wilkes and Jamie Nimmo

 

Bentley Motors Ltd. unveiled its first fully electric car, a luxury SUV with pure Merino-wool trim, as the Volkswagen AG unit seeks to improve profitability and establish itself in the high-end EV market. 

The Torcal will start at 173,000 euros ($230,000) in the UK, making it the cheapest Bentley model. The British brand expects younger consumers to be attracted to the car, including many first-time customers.

 

“We see rising interest in electric cars and way higher acceptance, even in our market segment,” Chief Executive Officer Frank-Steffen Walliser said Thursday in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “We expect many more customers to join the Bentley brand.”

 

 

The Torcal’s unveiling follows a backlash at Ferrari NV over the Italian supercar maker’s first EV, the Luce, whose look drew criticism from fans. Other brands, such as Jaguar, have divided opinion with creative designs for their EVs. Meanwhile, luxury automakers like Rolls-Royce are seeing demand for their electric cars slow.

 

The Torcal signals a broader shift at Bentley. It adds a fourth model line and becomes the first major test of a more cautious electrification strategy after the marque pushed back its plan to sell only battery-powered cars by 2035.

 

“It was very important to really build a pure Bentley and not give up everything around the heritage, the craftsmanship that comes with Bentley,” Walliser told Bloomberg TV.

 

The launch comes as VW leans harder on its luxury brands to deliver earnings while the broader group cuts jobs, shrinks factory capacity and simplifies operations. Bentley sits inside Audi’s premium-brand group alongside Lamborghini and motorcycle manufacturer Ducati. Audi has been hit by US tariffs and a rapid decline in China, adding to the pressure on smaller marques to defend pricing and margins. 

Improving returns from those brands is pivotal to VW’s overhaul. The automaker needs cash from high-end vehicles to fund restructuring, software and electric-car investment as its mass-market businesses grapple with high costs in Germany and weaker profit in China.

 

The Torcal, named after the El Torcal limestone landscape in Andalusia, Spain, shares its underpinnings with Porsche’s electric Cayenne and is leveraging other VW group capabilities, according to Walliser.

 

Bentley is targeting “double-digit numbers” for return on sales, even as the automotive industry remains “under high stress,” the CEO said. Carmakers need to make significant investments to create new models like the Torcal, which cost more than £1 billion to develop, he added.

 

Assembled in Crewe in the north of England, the Torcal enters a market where luxury EV demand has been patchy. Deliveries of Rolls-Royce Spectres slumped by nearly a third in the first half of 2026 from a year earlier, BMW AG earnings show. Chinese manufacturers including BYD Co. and Geely-owned brands are meanwhile pushing further upmarket, challenging a segment long dominated by European marques.

 

Bentley is wagering that it can avoid that pattern. The five-meter Torcal reaches 60 miles per hour in 2.8 seconds and can travel as far as 375 miles under testing conditions. Getting 80% of charge takes about 16 minutes at 400 kilowatts, Bentley said.

 

Buyers seeking a traditional British flourish can choose a glossy cabin finish called Cricket Ball. Bentley is also using materials and comfort to distinguish the Torcal from other large electric SUVs. It developed what it calls the first 100% Merino-wool automotive fabric with British textile maker Fox Brothers. Another finish combines as many as 1,000 layers of walnut offcuts and recycled paper. 

 

It also offers “wellness” seats with leg massage, a digital-detox mode and a “Refresh” setting that boosts airflow. The company also worked with musicians to develop optional sounds that mimic the roar of a V8 engine. 

 

The Torcal is the focal point of a 350 million euros investment in Bentley’s Crewe site, a boost for the British car industry that’s grappling with high costs and post-Brexit barriers. Jaguar Land Rover, the country’s largest carmaker that recently unveiled its first electric Range Rover, earlier this month said it would cut 4,000 jobs.