Bentley looks to double sales after record year

BENTLEY Motors sold 11,020 cars in 2014, to break its 2013 record by 9%.

The Crewe-based manufacturer, which has 3,800 employees at its site in the town, saw growth is all key regions of the Americas, China, Europe including the UK, and Middle East.

The company said the launch of new models drove its success. The Continental GT V8 S and GT Speed coupe and convertible and Flying Spur V8 all entered the market in 2014.

Chairman and chief executive Wolfgang Dürheimer, said: “2014 marked an exceptional year for Bentley, as our record breaking pattern continued. We delivered more cars than ever before, and we now operate in more markets than at any point in our 96 year history, a perfect example of our truly international appeal.   
 
“And this as we embark on a milestone year for the company, in which we are working to deliver the world’s first luxury SUV, and set our sights beyond this and to the future to try and maintain this significant period of success.”

Bentley’s number one market throughout 2014 was the Americas, closing the year delivering 3,186 cars, up from the 2013 number of 3,140. This accounted for 29% of total global sales.  China remained the second biggest Bentley market, with 2,670 cars sold,  up from 2,191the previous year.

In Europe, sales were up by 4%, to 1,539.  In the UK,  Bentley’s home market,  there was marginal growth as sales increased rising , delivering 1,387 cars, up from 1,381 cars in 2013.

Overall, this means that 87% of Bentley’s cars exported from England to customers around the world.

At a press conference the manufacturer said it expects its SUV to help almost double sales by 2020. Bentley expects to increase sales to 20,000 a year by the end of the decade, after previously targeting 15,000 deliveries by 2018.

“We think the success of the SUV will lift us into a new dimension,” Wolfgang Duerheimer said, adding the vehicle would be unveiled this year, potentially at the Geneva auto show in March.

More than 4,000 potential customers have already expressed an interest in the SUV without having seen it, Bentley has said, leading sales chief Kevin Rose to say a forecast of selling 3,000 SUVs a year could be conservative.

First deliveries of the new car will be made next year.