UPDATE: Due to a reporting error in the source material, we had the wrong North America sales total for Bentley. The correct number now appears below.
Coming off a record year in 2006, Bentley says that we shouldn't expect similar stellar figures in the near future. After building 10,087 units last year (more than any other ultra-luxury marque), Bentley acknowledged that it's at full production and will probably see a leveling off of sales in the next few years. CEO Franz-Josef Paefgen told reporters in Detroit that they are still investigating adding new models to the Bentley lineup, but that the decision process is incredibly difficult because the image of Bentley must remain intact. That means no SUVs or small sedans, most likely.
Other tidbits that came out of the meeting were that the North American market accounted for about 40% of Bentley sales last year (4,017 units sold), the wait list for a new Bentley is still about 18 months in most markets, and that the company will no longer use the VW Phaeton plant in Dresden that was temporarily used when they launched the Conti Flying Spur. On a partially related note, we had another brief spin in a GTC a couple of days ago and can attest to the fact that chopping the top off does nothing to the driving dynamics of this ultra luxury coupe. Hopefully we'll be able to provide more details soon.
[Source: Automotive news, sub req]
Coming off a record year in 2006, Bentley says that we shouldn't expect similar stellar figures in the near future. After building 10,087 units last year (more than any other ultra-luxury marque), Bentley acknowledged that it's at full production and will probably see a leveling off of sales in the next few years. CEO Franz-Josef Paefgen told reporters in Detroit that they are still investigating adding new models to the Bentley lineup, but that the decision process is incredibly difficult because the image of Bentley must remain intact. That means no SUVs or small sedans, most likely.
Other tidbits that came out of the meeting were that the North American market accounted for about 40% of Bentley sales last year (4,017 units sold), the wait list for a new Bentley is still about 18 months in most markets, and that the company will no longer use the VW Phaeton plant in Dresden that was temporarily used when they launched the Conti Flying Spur. On a partially related note, we had another brief spin in a GTC a couple of days ago and can attest to the fact that chopping the top off does nothing to the driving dynamics of this ultra luxury coupe. Hopefully we'll be able to provide more details soon.
[Source: Automotive news, sub req]
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