Bentley Motors posts record sales but cautious

Bentley Motors half-year performance was record breaking but lack of chip supply and Covid could happen it. Photo: Bentley

Bentley Motors has posted the company’s 2021 half-year performance, with sales and profit levels unmatched in Bentley’s 102-year history, but there is caution for the rest of the year.

It announced an operating profit of €178 million, greater than any profit figure posted for a full-year period by the company. Retail sales increased by 50 percent from a pre-COVID 2019 figure of 4785 to 7199 in 2021.    

These sales were well-balanced between the luxury marque’s three model lines, Bentayga (2767), Continental GT (2318) and Flying Spur (2063).  

The Bentayga maintained the number one model position as full market availability was reached for the first time. Hybrid and S models have also been announced. With the introduction of the Speed in the second half of the year, it is anticipated that Continental GT sales could reach record numbers three years after introduction. 

The market launch of Flying Spur in China, now Bentley’s biggest sales region, contributed to the model line’s share of 29 percent of global sales, further helped by the addition of the V8 engine.

But these positive results are against a backdrop of continued uncertainty from the lack of semiconductors and increasing COVID-19 numbers in many parts of the world could threaten future production, says the brand. 

Building on this, Adrian Hallmark, Bentley’s Chairman and CEO, said, “these results are an important milestone on our mission Beyond100, namely to become the leading sustainable luxury mobility company by 2030”. 

“They are the outcome of favourable market conditions, combined with three years of hard work within Bentley, where we have reinvented our products, restructured our operations, managed three crises, and defined our 2030 strategy.

“We have worked relentlessly to transform our entire organisation through productivity improvements and cost efficiencies, and the double-digit return on sales is validation that we are on the right path to enable a sustainable business model.

“While we celebrate these results, we are not taking the full year outlook for granted as we know there are still sizable risks to the year-end, notably the increasing number of colleagues having COVID enforced self-isolation periods.

“That notwithstanding, our financial strength is a positive sign and as we continue on our biggest transformation and investment programme in history, Beyond100, fully electrifying our entire model range within a decade, we continue on track with our aim to become the world’s benchmark luxury car business, financially resilient and recession-proof.”