More and more well-known automakers are transitioning to electric vehicles, and a recent addition to the family is Bentley.

The luxury carmaker just announced plans to release its first all-electric car, an SUV, by 2025. In addition, the company intends to use Audi's Project Artemis chassis as a starting point.

With more and more governments finalizing deadlines for the sale of conventional gasoline-powered vehicles, it is no surprise that electric vehicles are attracting attention. And according to CEO Adrian Hallmark, "2025 is the right time [for Bentley] to launch an electric SUV."

Few details about the vehicle are yet known, but according to CAR magazine, this will be the start of Bentley's full EV range. In fact, the plan is to phase out the internal combustion engine by the end of this decade, which is just about the time when world governments will begin to restrict sales of those vehicles.

Hallmark revealed to this publication that weight is a concern for Bentley. However, with "rapid advances in battery power density," Bentley hopes to be able to produce lighter and more aerodynamic cars. Hallmark noted that the car needs to be designed around the battery and built in a different way, rather than starting with a semi-final design and working backwards.

The adoption of Audi's Project Artemis, which is scheduled for completion in 2024, also gives an idea of what to expect. The platform is expected to include Level 2 autonomous driving technology with controlled steering and acceleration, but still falls well short of Level 5 fully driverless autonomous driving.

Artemis is also designed around building larger electric vehicles, rather than the smaller offerings currently offered by Volkswagen, the parent company of Audi and Bentley. Hallmark told CAR, "If it's not an SUV, it's nowhere. In other words, a system capable of manufacturing larger vehicles is exactly what Bentley needs in the future.

Unfortunately, would-be EV owners need not wait more than four years to enjoy the electrified Bentley action. The company has previously announced that it aims to produce plug-in hybrids in all of its models by 2023 and to eliminate gasoline-only options by 2026. Meanwhile, a plug-in hybrid model of the Flying Spur is expected to be available this year.