Setting a new record for an Asian market, Bentley Motors sold a whopping 396 cars in the first four months of 2011 in China – not including Hong Kong and Macau. By doing so, Bentley has broken its own previous record by an incredible 66 percent increase in sales.
Last year in 2010 Bentley had sold less than 1000 cars in China – a figure which itself is double the company’s sales for the previous year in 2009. Sales figures for 2010 paved the way for China to become the third biggest market for Bentley. However, with an even better performance in 2011, China has beaten U.K to become the second best market after USA for the first time ever in Bentley’s history. In fact, at the rate at which Bentley cars are being sold in China, one in four Bentleys that is sold all over the world is sold in that country.
However there is a lot of scope for Bentley to improve on the sales, as the majority of the sales have been achieved before the new Continental GT and Mulsanne have arrived in China. Among the 50 cars from the total of 396 cars that were sold, 25 were Continental GT models.
Alasdair Stewart, Bentley’s board member for sales and marketing, says, “Our Chinese customers, like the rest of the world, value Bentley’s history and our emphasis on the finest luxury, craftsmanship and automotive excellence. Although China has traditionally been a market for four-door cars such as the Mulsanne and the Continental Flying Spur, there is growing interest in the excitement, adrenalin and sheer fun of driving high performance sports car.”
Bentley, in an effort to acknowledge the importance of China, is planning to host its World Wide Dealer Conference in Beijing. This is the first time Bentley has arranged an event of such an importance in an Asian country.
Source: carscoop
