The head of one of the world’s most recognisable luxury carmakers has doubled down on the need for authenticity and pledged to avoid the use of computer-generated fake engine sounds. Bentley CEO Frank Walliser also railed against infotainment screens as he stressed quality as a defining pillar for the brand. 

Asked about the role sound design plays in the development of electric cars, Walliser told the Figuring Out with Raj Shamani podcast: “If you were to just skip that in electric cars, silence is very nice … Now that we have that in electric cars, we say, ‘Oh, something is missing.’”

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Bentley has already revealed its solution to the problem in the teaser campaign for the brand’s first electric vehicle, the Torcal SUV, as it focusses on an orchestral arrangement that imitates the beat and pacing of the brand’s V8 engines.

“We made a decision to say, Bentley is in V8, but just to record a V8 and bring it into the car, it felt wrong. So we had another idea,” Walliser said.

His focus on Bentley’s traditional craftsmanship also touched on everything from design to interior materials. Brands like Ford, GM and even Bentley’s parent company, Volkswagen, have all begun to integrate AI tools into their design phase, which Walliser is not keen on.

“If you ask AI to draw a car, it will use a lot of images of existing cars and generate something new, but where is the creativity? … You cannot replace the imagination and skill of people,” he said.

Walliser also voiced his disapproval of technology-led features like passenger display screens, a trend that’s fast emerging across newer Chinese brands and making its way to prestige cars from the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

“If you have a luxury product, do you really need more screen time?” he asked. “I’ve seen a lot of passengers for sure with a passenger display. No one uses it. We made a conscious decision and [we] say a passenger display does not fit to Bentley. We have wonderful veneer. Why a passenger display?”

Walliser described the marque’s interior quality as its defining characteristic when he was asked what makes Bentley unique. “I think the interior quality we offer, it’s unmatched,” he said. “There’s no car in the world that shows this level of detailing.”

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Walliser’s defensive stance comes as more brands look to the luxury end of the market in search of higher profit margins. In 2024, Cadillac launched the built-to-order Celestiq, an electric rival to cars like the Bentley Flying Spur.

In 2025, Toyota announced plans to turn its largely Japan-focused Century vehicles into a stand-alone brand positioned above Lexus and targeted at the likes of Bentley and Rolls-Royce.

Cheaper Chinese competitors have also moved beyond the entry-level prestige market, with bigger and more opulent models from brands like Zeekr, Denza and Maextro. Other marques such as Hongqi, which builds China’s state limousines, are also looking to expand into international markets.