Bentley expands its headquarters with new development centre
Crewe in north-west England is firmly rooted in the country’s industrial history. Rolls Royce began producing aircraft engines there in 1938. In 1946, the first car was manufactured in the town in Cheshire – a Bentley Mark VI. Since then, Crewe has been the headquarters of British luxury car manufacturer Bentley.
Around 80 years later, the VW subsidiary has made its headquarters fit for the electric age and opened a new technical development centre on the site of the local ‘Pyms Lane’ factory. This is set to be essential for the development of future electric models from Bentley.
The building has two floors and a floor space of 13,000 square metres. Among other things, it houses a prototype workshop, a laboratory for materials development and a facility for software integration. The high-voltage systems of the next generation of vehicles will also be tested and integrated there.
Many of the departments are not completely new, but have moved from the previous A1 building, the oldest on the site, to the new building. Hall A1 is undergoing extensive renovation and will house the manufacturer’s electric car production in the future. It is scheduled to officially open in 2027.
Originally, Bentley wanted to convert its entire model range to electric drive by the end of the decade as part of its ‘Beyond 100+’ strategy. However, due to sluggish demand for electric cars in the luxury segment, these plans have been scaled back and a change of course announced for September 2025. The British manufacturer has abandoned the idea of a fixed end date for combustion engines. However, electric vehicles will continue to be a high priority in Crewe. Bentley plans to launch its first battery-electric model in 2026. This is expected to be an ‘urban’ SUV.
“Our Beyond100+ strategy maps out a fundamental programme of change, using what is known now and adapting that vision as we adopt yet-to-be-discovered technologies in the future. We are working on the next generation of electrified driving, digitally connected cars, with driving autonomy that will achieve the highest levels of luxury mobility. This new Engineering Technical Centre is a key building block for the successful delivery of this strategy and helps enable engineering concepts to become reality at the heart of development and integration, as we look to continue to create the most luxurious and performance-oriented vehicles on the market,” said Bentley’s Chief Development Officer, Matthias Rabe, at the opening.
This article was first published by Elias Holdenried for electrive’s German edition
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