British luxury car firm Bentley Motors has announced record total sales in 2020 of 11,206 vehicles – the highest in its 101-year history and achieved despite the Covid pandemic which forced a factory shut-down.
It marked an increase of two per cent over 2019 and was boosted by the introduction of the all-new Flying Spur which proved ‘a significant contributor to results.’
Bentley’s previous record sales year was in 2017 when it sold 11,089 cars.
Bentley posts record sales in 2020: The British brand sold more new cars last year than it has done annually in its 101-year history, with a sales boom in China pushing demand higher
The achievement is all the more remarkable as the corona pandemic meant Bentley’s production at its factory in Crewe employing 4,000 was shut down for seven weeks beginning in March and ran at 50 per cent output for a further nine weeks as social distancing measures were introduced, causing delays to the new generation Bentayga 4X4.
Bentley’s upbeat performance also ran against the grain of plummeting UK car sales generally during 2020 which official figures on Wednesday are expected to show were down by almost a third.
Bentley which is preparing to launch its first fully electric car from 2025 and to be fully ‘electrified’ by 2030 said: ‘Although the pre-Covid sales forecast was much greater, new model introductions fuelled this significant achievement which was the highest sales performance in any of the luxury British marque’s 101 years.
‘A resulting comprehensive redesign of the production facility enabled Bentley to meet this global demand while in parallel maintaining these social distancing protocols to the current day and beyond.‘
The Americas remained Bentley’s number one region although a strong performance in China, with an increase of 48 per cent in sales, ran it close.
The achievement is all the more remarkable as the corona pandemic meant Bentley’s production at its factory in Crewe employing 4,000 was shut down for seven weeks beginning in March and ran at 50 per cent output for a further nine weeks as social distancing measures were introduced
It compensated for a fall sales in the UK and continental Europe.
Bentley which is owned by German car giant Volkswagen – said the key to its success was the introduction of ‘exciting new models’ and greater global availability of existing popular models: ‘In particular the all-new Flying Spur was launched internationally and received a phenomenal reception from customers and media alike’.
Demand was increased further in October with the introduction of a high-performance V8 engine derivative.
The sporty Bentley Continental GT (24 per cent) and GT Convertible (15 per cent) together accounted for 39 per cent of total sales and finished the year as Bentley’s number one selling model line. The firm said of its best-selling Bentayga 4X4: ‘In spite of the run out of the previous generation model, and delays to market entry of the all-new Bentayga due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the pioneering, go-anywhere SUV was still the biggest selling single model, accounting for 37 per cent of total sales.’
The Bentayga SUV continues to be Bentley’s most-bought car – and a new hybrid version is coming this year
While China saw the biggest increase in demand, Bentley still sells more cars in the US than anywhere else
Bentley’s biggest market, the Americas region delivered 3,035 cars, an increase of 4per cent on the 2,913 sold in 2019.
It noted: ‘This strong performance was boosted by the introduction of the Flying Spur and a full year of sales of the Continental GT and GT Convertible luxury Grand Tourer.’
Bentley’s biggest growth was in China, enjoying a sales increase of 48 per cent, 2,880 cars, against 1,940, as the all new Flying Spur entered the market known for its love of traditional saloons. But Bentayga 4X4 sales also remained strong, said Bentley.
| Market | 2020 (sales) | 2019 (sales) | 2020 (% of total sales) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Americas | 3,035 (+4%) | 2,913 | 27% |
| China | 2,880 (+48%) | 1,940 | 26% |
| Europe | 2,193 (-18%) | 2,670 | 20% |
| Asia Pacific | 1,203 (+6%) | 1,139 | 11% |
| United Kingdom | 1,160 (-22%) | 1,492 | 10% |
| Middle East | 735 (-14%) | 852 | 6% |
| Total | 11,206 (+2%) | 11,006 | 100% |
Europe ended the year with the delivery of 2,193 cars, down from 2,670 in 2019, a decrease of 18 per cent.
This was put down to the ‘market entry delays’ of the all-new Bentayga 4X4.
The home UK market was also down, by 22 per cent to 1,160 cars.
Bentley delivered 735 cars to the Middle East in 2020, down from 852 the previous year.
But the Asia Pacific region posted an increase of 6 per cent to 1,203 cars, against 1,139 in 2019.
The luxury car firm also ended the year with 237 retailers in 67 countries.
Bentley Motors chairman and chief executive Adrian Hallmark said: ‘Even though we anticipated greater sales before the pandemic struck, when you consider the level of restrictions around the world for the majority of the year, to achieve a record sales performance is a strong measure of our potential. ‘
He added: ‘As we look to the year ahead we remain cautiously optimistic as much remains uncertain. One thing that doesn’t is our commitment to progress, the first step of which is the launch of the Bentayga Hybrid.
‘This is one of nine new models we will launch this year as we continue on our Beyond100 strategic path and our accelerated journey towards becoming a fully electrified car company by 2030.’
As part of a wider shake-up German parent company Volkswagen Group announced last month that Bentley will from Spring fall under the umbrella of its German sibling Audi.
VW said: ‘In the course of the reorganisation, it was further resolved that the Bentley brand will fall within the management responsibility of the Audi brand as of 1 March 2021 in order to allow for synergies to be achieved as part of the electrification strategy of the two premium brands’.
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