USA named as Bentley's biggest market on Independence DayBentley’s half year results for 2012 show continued strong growth. Sales are up in every region leading to a global increase of 32% (3,929 cars delivered to customers).
The US has re-emerged as Bentley’s number one market with deliveries up by 25.7% (1,140 cars delivered to customers). Sales in China also remain extremely strong with results up 55.7% (1,059 cars delivered to customers). However, as predicted, strong demand in both markets has created a real competition and despite China edging ahead at the end of Q1, the Americas retook the lead at the half year point.
Bentley’s flagship Mulsanne sold strongly in both markets and saw an overall increase of 30% as the Diamond Jubilee Special Edition and Mulliner Driving Specification became available to customers. At the same time, the new Continental GT underscored its popularity with customers around the world. Deliveries of the premium coupé, which is now available with both W12 and V8 engines, increased by 48.5%.
Bentley’s strong performance in its two largest regions was underpinned by an increase in sales in all other regions. In Europe results were up 22.9% with 607 deliveries to customers, and in the UK they increased by 4.5% with 557 deliveries to customers.
Further afield Bentley saw deliveries increase by 47.9% in the Middle East (346 cars). Results were also up some 52.6% in Asia Pacific and 114.3% in Japan.
Wolfgang Duerheimer, Bentley’s Chief Executive said:
“Our half year results show strong growth for Bentley in every single global region. The competition between the Americas and China continues and we are watching closely to see who will emerge as the largest region in 2012.
“Sales are being driven up by our flagship Mulsanne which is up 30% following strong interest in the US and China. We are also pleased to see the continued growth of the new Continental GT W12, our pinnacle performance coupé.
“I am very optimistic about the future for Bentley. We are gaining more momentum every month due to the strong performance of our global dealer network, the appeal of our existing model line to customers and the exciting future models like the Continental GT Speed we have in the pipeline.”
Incidentally, it is interesting to learn that Bentley Motors is the third largest R&D investor in the UK's automotive sector and the 18th largest nationally. The company employs almost 4,000 people in Crewe which is home to all its operations including design, R&D, engineering and production. The combination of fine craftsmanship, using skills that have been handed down through generations, alongside engineering expertise and cutting-edge technology is unique to UK luxury vehicle manufacturers such as Bentley. It is also an example of high-value British manufacturing at its best. Bentley exports over £500m worth of goods every year to established markets like the US, as well as emerging markets such as China and South America. | 
