Bentley to stop production of W12 petrol engine in 2024

Bentley said it hopes to "retain and redeploy" the 30 workers involved in assembling and testing W12s in Crewe

Bentley said it will stop making its 12-cylinder petrol engine by 2024 in a pledge to be fully electric by 2030.

The luxury car manufacturer said it had made more than 100,000 W12 engines since its launch in 2003.

It said it hoped to "retain and redeploy" the 30 workers involved in assembling and testing W12s at its Crewe factory.

Chairman and chief executive Adrian Hallmark said the company was taking "strides towards electrification".

"The time has come to retire this now iconic powertrain," he added.

The UK government plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030

Jim Holder, editorial director of magazine What Car?, said Bentley and its customers were "acknowledging that we are entering a new environmentally conscious era, where outright performance and luxury can still be attained, but in a less consumptive manner".

The government plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 and a number of car markers have already started to move towards being completely electric, including Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin.