From the pandemic to the scarcity of conductive materials, the automobile industry has faced several crises in recent times. However, Bentley seems immune to all of them with the “help” of its first SUV, the Bentayga, achieved a record-breaking first half of 2021.
In total, in the first six months of 2021 the British brand sold 7,199 units of its models, a figure that represents an increase of 50% compared to the 4785 Bentleys sold in the first half of… 2019!
Well, Bentley's numbers in the first six months of the year are not only positive in the “pandemic context”, they are in the absolute context of the 102 years of existence of the British brand.
But there is more. In just six months, Bentley posted a profit of 178 million euros. This figure is “only” the highest profit ever recorded by Bentley, even when compared to the amounts earned over an entire year of activity! Until now, Bentley's biggest profit had been the 170 million euros recorded in 2014.
Bentayga ahead but not by long
As might be expected, the Bentley bestseller in the first six months of the year was the Bentayga, of which 2,767 units were sold. Right behind this comes the Continental GT, with 2318 units and not far from the table is the Flying Spur, with a total of 2063 units sold.
As far as markets are concerned, the one in which Bentley was most successful was, for the first time in nearly ten years, the biggest market in the world, China. A total of 2155 Bentley cars were sold in that country in the first half of the year. In the Americas 2049 Bentleys were sold and in Europe a total of 1142 units.
In the Asia/Pacific region, sales reached 778 cars, while in the Middle East, Africa and India less Bentley were sold than in the United Kingdom (521 units against 554).
Despite having reason to celebrate, Bentley CEO and Chairman Adrian Hallmark opted for a more cautious tone, recalling: “Although we celebrate these results, we do not consider the prospects for the year guaranteed, as we know that there are still considerable risks towards the end of the year, mainly due to the growing number of colleagues with periods of self-isolation forced by the pandemic”.