Bentley has unveiled its first fully electric car after investing £350m to upgrade its factory in Cheshire. The Torcal SUV will be built on a brand-new production line at the site, which has been the luxury carmaker’s headquarters since 1946. Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the investment would “support 4,000 high-value local jobs in Crewe”. The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade said the Torcal would strengthen automotive supply chains, as Bentley is supplied by more than 700 businesses including 82 within a 50-mile radius of its base.
The announcement comes as the UK motor industry is facing strong headwinds, with JLR recently announcing large-scale job cuts and manufacturers looking for new avenues to grow their businesses. Despite announcements of new electric models to future-proof the industry, there have been calls to slow the switch to a fully EV future. Bentley said the Torcal’s 113kWh battery gave it a range of up to 375 miles (600km), adding that it could charge from 10% to 80% in less than 20 minutes using a 400kW charger. The company said the Torcal S model would also be its most powerful car yet with a top speed of 162mph, and the fastest-accelerating from standstill, reaching 60mph in 2.8 seconds.
The standard Torcal model can travel at up to 155mph and takes 3.3 seconds to accelerate to 60mph. Dr Frank-Steffen Walliser, Bentley’s chairman and chief executive, called the Torcal “one of the best Bentleys ever” and said it had been designed to combine luxury with electric technology. “The Torcal is a Bentley first and foremost, created by hand by people who care, using the best available materials and technology to blend heritage with cutting-edge innovation,” he said. The new production line is inside one of the Crewe site’s original factory buildings dating from 1938.
It previously housed the company’s machining shop and later its research and development workshop. It has been stripped and fitted with a new floor designed to allow autonomous guided vehicles to move cars through the production process. Reynolds described Bentley’s £350m investment as “the third win in just seven days” for Britain’s automotive industry following £500m announced by McLaren and £170m from Nissan. The government said it was investing £7.5bn to support a transition to electric vehicles, with plans to phase out new petrol and diesel cars from 2030.
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