“But we see there are new customers out [there] that definitely want to have a very modern car … a different, more modern interpretation of a Bentley.
“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.”
He said the decision to delay the point at which Bentley would go fully electric was to ensure the company had “a more balanced product portfolio”, adding: “[We are] also reacting to the different speeds in the markets we see.
“In China, electrification is completely different than in other parts of the world. Some parts of the world may be even slower than 2035, so we have to react to that and we listen carefully to our customers.”
Bentley said it would sell plug-in hybrids until at least 2035, with a new EV or plug-in model launched every year from 2026 to 2035. These will all be designed and built at the company’s historic factory in Crewe.
As part of the strategy, Bentley has been investing in equipment there, including a new paint shop, a dedicated EV assembly line and high-tech design centre.
Bentley is owned by the Volkswagen Group and will be building its EV models on a platform developed jointly with Porsche and Audi, both part of VW.
Bentley sold 5,476 cars in the first half of 2024, down by 23pc compared to a year earlier.
Its Bentayga luxury SUV, which starts at about £160,000 before customisations, accounts for 42pc of sales, with the Continental GT – starting at £236,000 – and Continental GTC accounting for another 34pc.
The remaining quarter came from the Flying Spur luxury sedan, which starts at £223,000.