UK established as second highest selling country
Bentley Motors delivered 10,100 cars in 2015, following double-digit growth in Europe, strong performance in Bentley’s UK home market and North America retaining its position as the number one region. This helped Bentley achieve its third consecutive year of selling more than 10,000 cars.
Record sales in South Korea, Japan and the Middle East – with United Arab Emirates establishing itself as the fifth most successful single country – further reinforces Bentley’s position as the most sought-after luxury car brand in the world.
Commenting on a successful 2015, Bentley’s Chairman and CEO, Wolfgang Dürheimer, said: “The positive Bentley Motors performance last year was supported by increases across key sales regions and was driven by our continued commitment to invest – in our products, in our people and in our network…We have worked hard to build a sustainable platform to enable long-term growth and this will help deliver a strong 2016, with the all-new Bentayga playing an important role, with first deliveries imminent. We also have exciting plans ahead as we look to introduce future models, allowing more customers around the world to experience Bentley’s unique combination of luxury and performance.”
Bentley increased its presence around the world to 58 markets, more than ever before, with 203 retail partners. These partners will invest over €100 million this year in newly-styled modern, luxury showrooms.
The number one customer region throughout 2015 was North America, closing the year delivering 2,864 cars, slightly down from 3,186 in 2014. This accounted for 28% of global deliveries.
In Europe, sales were up by 10% with 1,695 cars delivered against the previous figure of 1,539 cars. Bentley’s home market, the UK, continued to perform strongly establishing itself as the second highest selling country, delivering 1,457 cars, up from 1,387 in 2014, achieving an 85% export figure.
Bentley’s Member of the Board for Sales, Marketing and Aftersales, Kevin Rose, said: “This international success is a further indication of the strength of Bentley’s brand. Not only have we established four key sales regions – North America, Middle East, Europe, including the UK, and China – we are also seeing markets such as South Korea, Russia and Japan grow rapidly too. This will only help us grow further, without compromising our exclusivity, and providing even greater long-term stability for Bentley Motors.”
Bentley delivered 1,274 cars to the Middle East in 2015, up by eleven cars from 2014, with the success driven by the introduction of the Continental GT V8 S.
Bentley was not immune from the current challenging sales conditions the automotive sector faces in China; however remains committed to its customer and retail partners in the region, and is confident of long-term success. Bentley delivered 1,615 cars, down from 2,560 in 2014. Excluding China sales figures, Bentley maintained its record-breaking performance in 2015 for the rest of the world.
The Asia Pacific region delivered 455 cars, against 457 in 2014. Japan saw growth of 15%, delivering 353 cars against a total of 306 cars in 2014.
Finally, South Korea, following the introduction of the Flying Spur V8, delivered 387 cars, up 20% from the 2014 figure of 322.
