The boss of British luxury car maker Bentley has slammed Labor’s plan to reinstate the controversial 2030 deadline for electric vehicles if it comes to power.
Chairman and chief executive Adrian Hallmark has warned it would be a “mistake” to bring forward the ban on petrol and diesel cars from 2035 to 2030.
He called on Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer to reconsider his plans as carmakers in the UK and around the world experience a slowdown in demand for purely electric vehicles (EVs).
He also said that Level 3 self-driving autonomy – in which a driver can let go of the controls and does not need to pay attention to the road – is “dangerous” and would not be adopted by Bentley.
Bentley chairman and chief executive Adrian Hallmark has warned it would be a “mistake” for Labor to reinstate the 2030 deadline for electric vehicles after a ban on the sale of new petrol cars and diesel was only pushed back to 2035 last September.
Speaking as he announced healthy profits and sales for 2023 – driven by record levels of personalization – Mr Hallmark said Bentley was already “full speed ahead” and “fully committed” to the move to electric – with five purely electric vehicles planned out of five. years – and with all investments “locked and loaded”.
But he said the launch of Bentley’s first fully electric car had to be postponed by a year – from 2025 to late 2026 – for a combination of technical reasons and weaker-than-expected customer demand, fueled by the shortage of public charging stations.
To close this gap and reduce “risk”, Bentley is now placing greater emphasis, for an extended two-year period, on petrol-electric plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV), until 2031-2032, when the full range of Bentleys would be available. electric only.
To do otherwise would be financially “reckless” in the face of reality, he said when updating future forecasts.
Mr Hallmark said Bentley was already “full speed ahead” and “fully committed” to the move to electric – with five purely electric vehicles planned over five years – and with all investments “locked and loaded”.
Bentley is currently investing more than £2.5 billion over 8 years until 2030 to complete its transition to exclusively electric vehicle production.
Keir Starmer has promised he will reinstate the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars within months if he wins the next general election.
But Labor’s plans to reinstate the controversial 2030 deadline would send them back to the drawing board, create economic uncertainty, sabotage their electrification timetable and prove unnecessarily costly for the company which employs 4,000 people in Crewe and exports its luxury and performance cars worldwide. as a huge source of export revenue for the UK, Mr Hallmark warned.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced in September last year that the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030 would be postponed to 2035 – where it had been previously.
However, Labor shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the Financial Times in early October that Labor would reinstate the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars within months if it won the next general elections, saying it would restore “certainty” to the country. automobile industry.
But Bentley boss Mr Hallmark said it would have exactly the opposite effect, creating more uncertainty and confusion.
He said: “Elections will be held in May or November. Labor has announced it will cancel the government’s 2035 deadline.
“It would be a mistake to go back from 2035 to 2030. That would create uncertainty.”
Production of Bentley’s first electric vehicle has been delayed by a year – from 2025 to the end of 2026 – due to weaker-than-expected customer demand, fueled by a shortage of public charging stations. Ray Massey poses with the Bentley EXP 100 GT electric concept car
It takes up to eight years to develop a new vehicle. Having already had to revise their plans once, it would be detrimental to have to do so again, he said.
Bentley is currently investing more than £2.5 billion over 8 years until 2030 to complete its transition to fully electric car production. Bentley’s financial performance was “strongly influenced by record levels of interest in luxury personalization.”
Three-quarters of customers explored 46 billion option configurations, with bespoke content from Bentley’s Mulliner division enjoying a 43% increase over 2022.
Some customers spending £250,000 on a car have spent as much on customisation.
Customers were also choosing the most expensive model versions, accounting for 70% of sales, up from 30% in 2022.
Currently, Brits can only legally enable Level 2 automated driving systems. However, the government is currently trying to pass its Automated Vehicles Bill to allow cars with Level 3 automation.
Level 3 is also called “conditional automation” and means the driver can remove their hands and feet from the controls and is not required to keep their eyes on the road while the system is active.
Regarding self-driving technology, Mr Hallmark said his cars would not progress to level 3 autonomy because it was “too dangerous” and created “ambiguity” over whether the driver or the car itself was at the controls.
Instead, they would remain at an enhanced version of Level 2 (L2++) until there was proven autonomy of Level 4 with greater “clarity”, he said.
Mr. Hallmark said that despite economic headwinds and future uncertainty: “It has been another great year for Bentley. »
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