Two very different electrified launches landed in the UK this week, bookending the market from opposite directions. Bentley showed the Torcal, its first-ever fully electric car, in London on 23 September 2026, while BYD quietly became the country’s cheapest plug-in hybrid seller with the on-sale launch of the Dolphin G supermini. Together they’re a useful snapshot of how far UK electrification has spread — from six-figure luxury SUVs to sub-£24,000 superminis.
Bentley’s first EV ends 107 years of combustion-only history
The Torcal is a battery-electric SUV built at Bentley’s Crewe factory, and it arrives in two states of tune. The standard car produces 821 PS (810 hp), while the range-topping Torcal S is rated at 888 PS (876 hp) and what Bentley says is the highest torque output it has ever fitted to a production car. Coverage of the reveal from Electrek and Motoring Research both put the 0-60 mph time at a little over three seconds for the standard car, dropping to under three seconds in the S.
Underneath sits a 113 kWh, 800-volt battery built from 192 pouch cells, rated for up to 375 miles on the WLTP cycle. Peak DC charging reaches 400 kW, enough to take the pack from 10 to 80 percent in roughly 16 minutes, and Bentley backs it with a 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty. “The Torcal is a Bentley first and foremost, created by hand by people who care,” the company said in its launch statement, leaning on craftsmanship rather than raw numbers to differentiate the car from electric rivals out of Munich and Stuttgart.
Bentley has confirmed UK pricing from £173,000 for the standard Torcal and £199,300 for the Torcal S, with first customer deliveries expected in summer 2027 — making it, somewhat surprisingly, the cheapest model in Bentley’s current line-up. The Torcal isn’t yet listed among Bentley’s current lineup on getevcar.com; we’ll add a dedicated model page once order configurations are finalised ahead of deliveries.
BYD prices the UK’s cheapest plug-in hybrid
At the other end of the market, BYD has started UK deliveries of the Dolphin G, a plug-in hybrid supermini priced from £23,990. That undercuts its closest PHEV rival, the Geely Starray EM-i, by roughly £500, and Auto Express and EV Fleet World both confirm it as the cheapest plug-in hybrid currently on sale in Britain.
Four trims are offered. The entry Active (£23,990) and Boost (£26,990) versions carry a smaller 7.42 kWh battery good for up to 25 miles of electric-only driving, while the Comfort (£28,490) and range-topping Sport (£29,490) step up to an 18.3 kWh pack and roughly 65 miles of EV range — enough for most UK commutes to be covered without the petrol engine firing at all. BYD claims a combined range of up to 646 miles from a full tank and a full charge together. It’s worth noting the MG3 Hybrid+ still undercuts the Dolphin G on price, but that’s a conventional hybrid without a plug, so it isn’t really cross-shopped against a PHEV in the same way.
The Dolphin G joins an expanding BYD range in the UK that already spans full EVs and PHEV SUVs, and it’s a strong option for anyone cross-shopping the wider plug-in hybrid market on a tighter budget.
Two ends of the same shift
A £173,000 ultra-luxury EV and a sub-£24,000 plug-in hybrid launching in the same week says something about how broad the UK’s electrified line-up has become. Browse the full range of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles available in the UK on getevcar.com as delivery details for both cars firm up over the coming months.
