NAA Event Review: Bentley Networking
Our latest networking event last month saw us visit Bentley Motors Limited at its Crewe, Cheshire headquarters.
We were welcomed at the Design Centre by:
• Andreas Lehe, Member of the Board for Manufacturing
• Sally Hepton, Director of Government Relations and Sustainable Luxury
• Christian Perry, Logistics Director
• Rachael Wood, Executive Assistant to Member of the Board for Manufacturing
Sally Hepton opened by explaining the importance of the NAA and its members to Bentley, in terms of its regional supply chain.
Andreas Lehe then gave an overview of the operations at Crewe, which has built cars since 1946 and currently employs over 4,000 people in all areas from Design and Engineering, through Sales & Marketing to Manufacturing and Aftersales. Andreas explained that since 2017, Bentley has operated on 100% green electricity and, since 2019, 100% green gas. Today, all electricity used to manufacture their vehicles is sourced from their own solar panels or certified green, and the entire site has now been 100% carbon neutral for five years, externally verified in accordance with the PAS 2060 carbon neutral standard.
Andreas then gave an overview of the Beyond100+ Strategy, involving a total investment of £2.5 billion, in which Bentley has committed to building a new ‘Dream Factory’ in Crewe which will transform the company’s operations. As the largest self-funded site investment programme in the company’s 105-year history, the project comprises a new state-of-the-art Design Centre, a more efficient Paint Shop with lower emissions, and the assembly line for the new electric Bentley. Together, these developments will help to transform the 85-year-old Crewe site, equipping it for a new age of electrification and sustainability.
With the Dream Factory, the company will set a new benchmark for next-generation, digital, flexible and high-value manufacturing operations. It will facilitate a fundamental reinvention of the Crewe manufacturing infrastructure, with the aspiration of becoming the future benchmark of luxury car manufacturing, incorporating unique customer and employee experiences.
Central to the Beyond100+ strategy is the development of the very first all-electric Bentley. Due to be revealed in 2026, it is set to create an entirely new segment, just as the iconic Bentley Continental GT did, more than two decades before it. The as-yet-unnamed vehicle will be the world’s first luxury urban SUV. This first ever electric Bentley will be designed, developed and crafted by hand at the company’s headquarters in Crewe, England – just like every other Bentley.
As a luxury urban SUV, it will combine the SUV form factor with a manageable size of less than five metres in length, alongside cutting-edge driver assistance systems to make driving in the city a breeze. Yet it will also be a car for long, exhilarating drives on the open road – which means fast charging and a supremely long battery range. Crucially, it will bring Bentley luxury to the electric world, with an estimated 46 billion different option configurations expected to be available at launch.
Delegates were then taken on a guided tour of various areas of the manufacturing facility, which included:
• Paint
• Wood
• Trim
• SUV Final Assembly
Delegates then returned to the Design Centre for a Q&A session with our Bentley hosts before departing.
