Bentley in top gear as sales rise 31%
BENTLEY, the Cheshire-based luxury car manufacturer, said sales rose 31% in the year to August, with more than 4,000 cars delivered worldwide.
The Crewe company, which took the wraps off its updated convertible model the Continental GTC at the Frankfurt Motor Show today, said sales in the last year had risen in all major territories.
Mirroring the startling growth of the economy there Chinese sales were particularly strong – up 67%- and passed 1,000 units for the first time.
Bentley said sales in the US and Europe rose by over a third and Germany up by two thirds
With the new GTC convertible set to go on sale in the last quarter, Bentley said it expects to deliver an overall sales increase of around 40% for 2011.
Bentley’s biggest single market remains the US and with sales of 1195 cars to the end of August across the entire Americas region, the brand is up by 36% per cent on 2010.
Bentley Motors’ chairman and chief executive, Wolfgang Dürheimer, said:
“It is an incredibly exciting time for Bentley. We have a strong new model line-up driving an increasing global interest in the brand.
“The new Continental GTC has already been previewed to some customers and their response has been extremely positive. With this, and other new models still in the pipeline, I am confident we can sustain this strong sales performance.”
There has been widespread speculation in the motoring trade that Bentley will launch into the SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) sector. In his previous role at Porsche Wolfgang Dürheimer was a leading figure behind the launch of the Cayenne SUV. Bentley has declined to comment on this.
