Bentley said it hopes to ‘retrain and redeploy’ the 30 workers involved in assembling and testing W12s
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Luxury car maker Bentley is to end production of its famed 12-cylinder petrol engine in April next year.
Over the last 20 years, more than 100,000 examples of the W12 engine have been built at the company’s factory in Crewe, Cheshire.
The VW-owned brand said the decision to halt production is part of the business’s move to electric motoring.
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Bentley chairman and chief executive Adrian Hallmark said: "Our progressive journey towards sustainable luxury mobility means making changes to every area of Bentley Motors.
"When we first launched the W12 back in 2003, we knew we had a mighty engine that would propel both our cars and the brand forwards at speed.
"Twenty years and more than 100,000 W12s later, the time has come to retire this now iconic powertrain as we take strides towards electrification."
Bentley said it hopes to "retrain and redeploy" the 30 workers involved in assembling and testing W12s.
All Bentley’s models will be available with the option of a hybrid powertrain when production of the petrol engine is stopped.
The company has pledged that all its cars will be fully electrified by the start of the next decade.
Sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans in the UK will be banned from 2030, with new plug-in hybrids outlawed five years later.
Bentley made record sales last year. The company, which dates back to 1919, said it delivered 15,174 cars in 2022.
The 4% increase compared with the previous 12 months was driven by demand in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific.
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