Bentley sales surge as export growth boosts manufacturers
LUXURY car brand Bentley has hailed 2011 as a “tremendously good year” as global sales rose 37% with 7,003 cars delivered to customers.
Last month saw the Crewe-based manufacturer enjoy its best single month since the recession with 1,059 cars sold. This is Bentley’s second highest ever monthly sale.
The company, part of Germany’s Volkswagen Group, said America remained its number one market with sales up by over a third to 2,021.
The figures are a boost to the Midlands component industry which supplies the manufacturer.
The performance owes much to the powerhouse economy of China, which is now Bentley’s second biggest market. During 2011 sales nearly doubled to a record 1,839 – this figure is all the more remarkable as Bentley only began selling in mainland China less than a decade ago.
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Sales in other regions performed well too. In continental Europe sales rebounded to 1,187 (an increase of 53%) led by strong demand in Germany where sales surged 88%.
The home market of the UK proved to be “extremely challenging” but still saw an increase of over 5% with 1,031 cars sold.
The figures emerged as the latest manufacturing output data showed exports rising for the first time in five months.
Clients in Germany, Eastern Europe and China drove the increase in export demand as overall production remained unchanged in December.
However, the manufacturing purchasing managers index also showed outstanding business fell for the 11th consecutive month.
