Bentley heads towards an electric future with record sales

British Bentley is booming. And exuberant, high-spirited boss Adrian Hallmark says this is just the beginning, as the Cheshire-based Crewe carmaker is undergoing a massive transformation on its path from luxury sports cars – with powerful but gas-guzzling petrol engines – to full-scale zero-emission electrification.

Bentley recently celebrated record results, both in sales and, more importantly, profits, on its ambitious road to full electrification, despite what Hallmark openly admits was a ‘roller-coaster’ year.

Driving that boom has been customers spending more on customizing and personalized luxury models of higher value, with a larger profit margin.

The record turnover – the highest in the company’s 104-year history – is being reinvested internally to create a new factory site in Crewe that will not only accommodate the move to electrification, but also enable Bentley to deliver even more to produce the lucrative personalized cars.

Chairman and CEO Hallmark, who is an engineer and metallurgist by training and an avid cyclist, may be the architect of the transformation, but it is clear that the 4,000-strong workforce at the Crewe factory are the heroes of this revolution, many of whom retrained for the switch.

The numbers alone are impressive. Bentley’s operating profit of €708m (£622m) for 2022 represented an increase of €319m (£280m) on 2021, and is almost €1bn (£880m) higher than the €288m (£253m) million) pre-pandemic 2018 losses.

But it was customer spending on lucrative extras, more than extra sales, that drove total revenue up 19 per cent year-on-year, with sales reaching €3.38bn (£2.97bn).

That profit increase came as Bentley also celebrated record sales of 15,174 cars in 2022 – the first time it sold more than 15,000 in a year.

It also marked a ‘significant shift’ in buying patterns, as well-heeled customers chose more expensive personalized options and ‘extras’, and invested more in exclusive limited edition and coachbuilt ‘collectibles’ – such as the Bacalar – costing around £2 million each. says Hallmark.

Indeed, the average price of a Bentley sold has risen from €165,000 (£145,000) in 2018 to €220.00 (£193,000) in 2022, driven by increased demand for personalisation, he adds.

But the best year for sales and financial performance also came in the face of unprecedented turbulence.

Those little extras – but at a price

The most popular ‘extras’ chosen by Bentley customers to increase the standard list price are…

Rotating Display: £4,965

At the touch of a button, the James Bond-style rotating display gives customers a choice of three dashboard surfaces: a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen, classic analog dials or elegant veneers.

Aviation seat: £8,390

Relax in business class seats with the world’s first automatic climate sensor and advanced posture adjustment system. It applies 177 individual pressure changes in six completely independent postural pressure zones.

Hand stitched: £2,570

This handmade needle and thread work involves placing a single thread between the twinning stitches throughout the cabin. It takes someone nearly a week’s work, but provides an extra level of bespoke handiwork.

“We faced so many challenges last year. Ten, to be exact. At least four of them could have shut down the business for months,” says Hallmark.

It was a testament to Bentley’s resilience, crisis planning, cost cutting, restructuring, its value over volume strategy – and its workforce – that the company not only survived but thrived despite challenges including parts shortages due to the war in Ukraine , economic uncertainty, rampant inflation and Covid, he says.

The strong performance also means that Bentley, part of the giant Volkswagen Group, can fund its own investment, including €3bn (£2.64bn) in transforming its Crewe factory for electrification and expanding its lucrative, bespoke made Mulliner arm. It is also a vote of confidence in Britain.

“We want to fund our own future and be self-sufficient,” Hallmark emphasized.

From 2026, five new fully electric cars will be launched in five years as part of this ‘Beyond100’ strategy.

Bentley aims to electrify its entire range and achieve carbon neutral status by 2030 as it moves away from the gas-guzzling 12-cylinder petrol engine. “We are fully committed to going all-electric,” says Hallmark.

The top seller in 2022 was Bentley’s Bentayga SUV, accounting for 42 percent of sales, with the Continental GT and Convertible accounting for a third). The flagship Flying Spur four-door grand-tourer took 28 percent of sales, boosted by a hybrid version.

Eleven of Bentley’s historic cars – including the Speed ​​Six and Team Blower – will appear and race at the Goodwood Members’ Meeting (goodwood.com) next weekend (April 15 and 16).

Rushing to buy an electric car causes an increase in new registrations

Good news in the UK car market this week as figures showed new registrations grew 18.2 per cent year on year in March – the eighth consecutive month of increases.

In total, 287,825 new vehicles left the showrooms last month, compared to 243,479 in March last year.

Sign here: Car sales are on the rise

And sales of pure electric cars hit an all-time high of 46,626 per month, a growth of 18.6 percent, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) revealed.

This was boosted by a new shipment of Teslas that arrived in the UK in March and propelled the Model Y SUV, priced from £44,490, to the top of the sales charts with 8,123 registrations.

However, the data also shows that sales to large fleets, including large organizations such as government agencies and rental companies, accounted for much of the increase, as sales in these sectors increased by nearly 41 percent.

In contrast, sales to private buyers, or general consumers hit by the cost-of-living crisis, rose just 1.4 percent compared to 12 months ago.

Best sellers in March were Tesla’s Model Y, followed by the Sunderland-built Nissan Juke and Nissan Qashqai, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson, Ford Puma, Vauxhall Corsa, the Mini, Toyota Yaris Cross and Ford Fiesta.

In the first three months of the year so far, the top seller has been the Nissan Qashqai, followed by the Nissan Juke, Vauxhall Corsa, Tesla Model Y and Kia Sportage.

Mike Hawes, CEO of SMMT, said: ‘The new March record month usually sets the tone for the year, so this performance will give the industry and consumers more confidence.’

Electrified “green” vehicles accounted for nearly half (46 percent) of sales, up 16 percent year-on-year.

Ginny Buckley, founder and CEO of the electric car website Electrifying.com, said: “It is reassuring to see the car market growing steadily. However, private buyers are still reluctant to switch to electric cars, something the industry needs to take seriously.

“We can see from the statistics that petrol superminis are becoming increasingly popular, while at the same time there is a great lack of smaller electric cars on the market.

“So now it’s up to automakers to launch smaller, cheaper models that we desperately need to drive adoption.

“Supporting infrastructure with more charging points is essential for this to happen.”

Afraid of spiders? Definitely not this one!

Car design guru Gordon Murray – who created the legendary McLaren F1 supercar and a host of F1 race cars during his stellar career – has just unveiled his latest creation, an open-top T.33 Spider that promises to be as practical as it is its high performance.

The car is powered by a mighty 617 hp 3.9-liter Cosworth GMA.2 V12 naturally aspirated engine, two removable roof panels and a flip-down rear window.

Billed as ‘a truly usable supercar’, the carbon composite roof panels stow away in the 115-litre front luggage compartment, while the twin side lockers provide an additional 180 liters of storage space.

The open-top T.33 Spider promises to be both practical and powerful

It will be hand-built, along with its hard-top sibling, T.33, at Gordon Murray Automotive’s new bespoke global headquarters and technology campus in Windlesham, Surrey.

Professor Murray said: ‘When I draw a car I imagine how it will feel to sit in and how it will feel to drive. So from the first sketch I knew that, with its open cockpit and the incredible Cosworth GMA.2 V12 engine right behind you, the T.33 Spider would provide a truly immersive driving experience unlike anything else.”

But despite being a mid-engined supercar, he insisted: “I wouldn’t accept any compromise on usability. That’s why the T.33 Spider is unique in the supercar sector as it offers both built-in roof storage and a 295-litre luggage compartment.”

The Spider will be limited to just 100 models, about half of which have already been sold, and will enter production in 2025.

Prices are expected to start from around £1.9 million.

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