Proactive Investors - Bentley's chief executive Adrian Hallmark has warned that the UK is falling behind other countries in attracting investment for electric vehicles, noting that initiatives such as the US Inflation Reduction Act are leaving Britain in the dust.
Hallmark said the UK government was doing “nothing to help” the carmaker to invest into electric vehicles, despite acknowledging that Bentley does receive tax breaks on some of its investments.
“If we were a start-up with no customers and no technology, then we could maybe get money, but as an incumbent . . . we can’t get double-digit millions over five years, because the policies that the government offer don’t support incumbents converting to green technologies,” he said.
“I wouldn’t say the UK is unwelcoming but it’s not facilitating investment at the rate of China, the US, or continental Europe,” he said.
“We can’t wait for the government to work out what every other government has worked out, which is if you want a green auto sector, it needs priming, needs some support for the transition.”
Hallmark welcomed measures in this week’s UK Budget, including the ability to write off investments in equipment, saying it was “a great first step and looks forward to hearing the detail”.
Bentley has pledged €3bn (£2.6bn) to fully transition into an EV-only business by 2030.
The business has already announced the end of its 12-cylinder engine and will launch plug-in hybrid cars until the end of the decade, when it will only sell battery models.
Hallmark does not expect Bentley to float on the stock market, saying it is stronger as part of the VW family, which gives the luxury carmaker it access to technology.