Crisis failed at Bentley

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luxury flows. In 2022, VW Nobel subsidiary Bentley achieved its best result ever. Sales figures, turnover, profit, returns – record values ​​rained down on all important figures. With 15,174 Bentleys delivered, the British automaker recorded sales of €3.38 billion (up 19 percent compared to 2021), a profit of € 708 million (up 82 percent) and a return on sales of 20.9 percent. For comparison: sister brand Porsche hopes to achieve such value within five years.

Unbelievable, admits Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark (61): “When everything is going great, you can easily break records. In the current situation, it’s something completely different.” Bentley had already won brilliantly in 2020 and 2021 in the Corona years despite all the burdens caused by the pandemic. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the threat to supply chains and the costs of energy and materials increased even more. “Ten suppliers in western Ukraine produce for us, mainly wiring harnesses and drive components. If only one failed, we would easily have had to stop production for 20 weeks,” says Hallmark. But it has always been possible to produce thanks to the Ukrainian employees and their organizational skills.

More options, more profits

Regardless, the record year shows: Bentley is in excellent shape again. Bankruptcies, misfortunes and failures determined a large part of the company’s 104-year history. Most recently in 2018: Hallmark admitted last fall that he “felt like he was at a funeral” when he took office, according to the German “Manager Magazine”. According to industry expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer (71) at the time, Bentley paid around 17,000 francs for each car sold.

Hallmark attributes the comeback to the new corporate strategy: “We didn’t just raise prices and earn more.” New structuring and increased productivity in production reduced costs. In addition, more expensive model versions are specifically purchased, which are further enhanced with special equipment: “20 years ago, with the first Continental GT, you could choose color and leather. The list of options today is endless,” says Hallmark. The corresponding checkmarks are adjusted more often than expected. Instead of 25 percent of all customers, the swiveling monitor is now used by 92 percent, and nine out of ten new Bentleys have custom seat stitching.

electricity by 2030

All of these and larger numbers get more cash flowing into the safe. Only the paint shop identifies production figures as the bottleneck – order books are so bloated that the plant in British Crew could easily produce more than about 15,000 cars per year. While Mulliner’s in-house personalization department accounted for less than five percent of sales, it is five times more today than it was three years ago. Mulliner also produces special models in mini-versions like the Bacalar or Batur, or re-releases of old Bentleys from the 1930s – with historic technology and only as many changes as today’s motorsport regulations require.

Hallmark knows: “We will not continue to grow.” But a good result helps you position yourself well for the next three years. From 2026, there will be a gradual transition to plug-in hybrids and electric drives. A fifth model series will be added to the four existing models, the Continental GT Coupé and Convertible, Flying Spur and Bentayga. If you interpret Hallmark’s implications correctly, Bentley also wants to return to the absolute luxury segment. Technically, Stromer should be on a common platform with Porsche. “We want it all,” Hallmark says: “Speed, range, and convenient charging.” So Bentley will be one of the last brands to release its first electric model but then “do it right”. At 600 kilometers, electric Bentleys should come relatively close to internal combustion engines; Charging from ten percent to 80 percent should be done in no more than 20 minutes. Electric driving will be standard on Bentley from 2030.

Twelve cylinders made

This also means: no more for the legendary W12 petrol engine with four cylinders each with three cylinders. The last one will be installed in April next year, after more than 110,000 copies: “We’ve produced more twelve cylinders than the rest of the auto industry as a whole,” grins Hallmark, and is looking to sell the last 24 W12 models. Could e-fuels be a way for the W12 to survive? “We have two billion cars on the road globally, and most of them will be on the market for decades. For this old stock, e-fuels are a possibility for CO₂-Interruption. But they are not a reason to abandon electrification,” says Hallmark. According to surveys, nearly 60 percent of Bentley customers want to buy an electric car within the next five years. “We don’t want to be too dependent on legacy technology.”

Hallmark sees only the necessary parallel investments in e-mobility and existing internal combustion engines as a problem to meet the future Euro 7 emissions standard: “We have to do the tuning work within 18 months, otherwise we would have estimated four years,” approaching July 2025. On the exhaust gas standard tightening, Hallmark says zur.

Source: Blick