The Bentley GT Speed convertible is one of several recent additions helping buy the British marque's sales.
With new products like the GT Speed convertible, its fastest ragtop ever, Bentley recorded a big surge in demand for the first half of 2013, the maker reports.
Worldwide sales rose 9%, to 4,279, over the same period a year ago, according to the British luxury brand. But that’s still well off the record pace Bentley set in 2008, just before the global economic collapse.
“Bentley continues to post significant global sales growth and we are extremely confident we will sustain this success for the remaining months of 2013 as we see the full availability of our new Flying Spur in all markets,” declared Kevin Rose, the marque’s board member in charge of sales, marketing and aftersales.
Long an afterthought in the ultra-premium automotive market, Bentley began a rebuilding effort even before it was split off from its long-time partner Rolls-Royce and sold to Germany’s Volkswagen AG. A critical step was expanding the product range – with an emphasis on a performance heritage tracing back to Bentley’s early dominance in motorsports, including the grueling Le Mans endurance race.
A flood of new models helped propel Bentley to an all-time record of 10,014 sales in 2008. But demand quickly collapsed as the key U.S. and European markets fell into recession the following year.
Sales have begun regaining momentum, in part, due to a refreshed line-up that most recently saw the addition of updated Continental GT Speed coupe and GT Speed convertible models. The first-half 2013 numbers suggest the marque could top 2012’s full-year sales of 8,510 vehicles. That, in turn, was 22% ahead of 2011’s volume of 7,003 vehicles.
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An oversized, one-off Bentley Mulsanne will be a featured part of the Coronation Festival taking place at Buckingham Palace this week. But, in many ways, the bespoke sedan represents the brand’s past, rather than its future.
For one thing, while the big Mulsanne may be Bentley’s most expensive model, it plays a secondary role to the various Continental platform spin-offs, including the Speed, the Flying Spur and GTC convertible, from a volume standpoint.
And while Britain may be Bentley’s ancestral home, the Americas are – at least for now – the brand’s largest market. Fully 30%, or 1,282 of the 4,279 vehicles the maker sold during the first half went to customers in North and South America, primarily the U.S.
“The first-half of 2013 proved successful for Bentley in the Americas, ,” commented Christophe Georges, President and COO Bentley of the Americas. “Bentley continues as the benchmark of the super luxury sector thanks to our strong dealer network and product portfolio.”
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Then again, like most of its luxury competitors, Bentley is gearing up for growing demand in China which is forecast by many analysts to become the world’s single largest national market for highline automobiles before the end of this decade.
If there is one aspect that the Coronation Festival’s Mulsanne represents for Bentley’s future, it is the one-off model’s bespoke body and interior work. Bentley has traditionally seen a major share of its customers asking for at least some customization and the maker is, if anything, putting even more emphasis on such options going forward.
While Bentley still has a ways to go to match its 2008 sales record, the VW luxury division is again betting on an expanded product line-up to get there. Bentley is in the process of working up a third model line, a highline SUV based on the EXP 9F introduced at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show.
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