Automotive company Bentley Motors has opened a new centre of excellence at its headquarters in Crewe in north-west England. By Leatherbiz.

It said the new facility will be pivotal to its preparations for launching the first battery-powered electric vehicle, which it hopes to do next year.

The new facility houses a “production proving ground” and mini assembly line and will help Bentley carry out intensive tests on the new vehicle, which it describes as “the world’s first urban luxury sports utility vehicle”.

It also includes a technical centre for future materials testing, high-precision dimensional measurement, vehicle analysis and reliability.

Commenting on the developments, head of manufacturing at Bentley, Andreas Lehe, said the new centre represented “a significant step forward in transforming our historic Crewe site into a world-leading hub for sustainable luxury automotive production”.