7:38 am, January 10, 2023
Bentley has sold more than 15,000 cars for the first time ever as UK sales surge.
The manufacturer, based in Crewe, saw global sales rise four per cent to 15,174 cars in 2022 compared to the previous year.
The UK saw the second biggest sales percentage rise with registrations up 12 per cent. The percentage rise was only beaten by the Asia Pacific market, which grew 23 per cent.
The largest market in terms of sales volume, though, was the Americas with 4,221 cars finding homes.
Sales in Europe were up 11 per cent with 2,809 cars sold while 2,031 cars were sold in the Asia Pacific region.
Those three regions achieved record performances for the luxury car manufacturer in a booming year of sales.
The marque’s financial performance was not revealed, but back in November the firm said its profit had doubled to £495m for the first nine months of the year.
Adrian Hallmark, chairman and CEO of Bentley Motors, said: ‘In what was another year of unpredictability, the business overcame significant headwinds and demonstrated great resilience to deliver the third consecutive record sales year.
‘This underlines our brand strength, operational excellence and strong global demand by market and model.
‘The reaction to the market introduction of our hybrid models, Flying Spur joining Bentayga last year, demonstrate the path the luxury sector is heading, and we are positioned firmly at the forefront.
‘These numbers are validation that we not only lead the sector in sales and market share, but also investment in electric technologies and commitment to being net carbon neutral in 2030.’
Yesterday, rivals Rolls Royce announced sales of 6,021 for the year – the first time it has ever passed the 6,000 units mark.
Bentley’s Bentayga SUV model accounted for 42 per cent of the total sales volume and is now the ‘most successful luxury SUV in the world’, says the firm.
The Continental GT and Convertible accounted for nearly a third of sales and the Flying Spur made up 28 per cent of sales volumes.
The latter saw a hybrid version introduced in 2022 and two thirds of those sold in the UK were in this guise.
Bentley ended the year with 241 car dealers in 65 countries.
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