Rolls-Royce CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös recently revealed his company isn’t in a rush to offer semi-autonomous driving technology and it appears Bentley is taking a similar approach.
In an interview with The Drive, Bentley’s boss of the Americas said he hasn’t heard a customer describe autonomous driving technology as a must have feature. Mark Del Rosso went on to say “It has to become a want and a need and a desire” before the company decides add the technology to its vehicles.
Despite this, Bentley is starting to add high-tech driver assistance features to newer models such as the Continental GT. As the company noted at its unveiling, the GT comes with a new electric power-assisted steering system which enables the car to offer Active Lane Assist, Traffic Jam Assist and Park Assist.
While Bentley appears to be taking a cautious approach to autonomous driving technology, Del Rosso said it is embracing electrification. As the executive explained “We want to be the leader in luxury electrification” and “It’s not a matter of if, but when.”
Del Rosso confirmed we’ll get our first taste of an electrified Bentley in the form of the Bentayga plug-in hybrid. The company still debating if future models should be plug-in hybrids or pure electric vehicles but Del Rosso says it ultimately depends on what the customer wants.
Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoops
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