ROME – Bentley Motors has announced the best financial results ever achieved in its 104-year history thanks to the 15,174 cars delivered in 2022; a number which, although equivalent to a relatively small plus 4% on the volumes of the previous year, generated an extraordinary increase of 82% in the item profits.
The data certifies how the Crewe models have become even more exclusive and expensive, so much so that revenues have increased by 19% reaching 3.34 billion euros. The superior yield (+20.9% on 2021) which crowns Bentley as the most profitable house of the Volkswagen group after Lamborghini, is the direct consequence of an upward strategy through the introduction of versions with ultra-luxury specifications, optional never highly prized, collector’s cars and limited series driven by the iconic W12.
Captained by the highly sought-after 12 Balacars (sold like hot cakes for 1.6 million euros) embroidered by the Mulliner division, the Bentley special series ensured the English manufacturer further profitability and solid foundations for the self-financing of the Beyond100; strategy that foresees a radical change of course fueled by 3 billion investments. Starting from 2026, the Crewe plant will in fact be suitable for the launch of 5 new electric models (with a real range promised at 650km) and carbon neutrality in the entire production chain is set for 2030.
In the meantime, the profound transformation of the company will see the progressive abandonment of the 12-cylinder endothermic engine in favor of battery-powered engines, which according to Bentley will have the same functional equivalence as petrol engines. The English manufacturer has also specified that it will maintain unchanged both the unique positioning of its models and the competitive cost structure, acquired over the last five years.
Reviewing the Bentley sales chart since 2018 (closed with a loss of 288 million euros), deliveries have gone from 10,494 units per year to the record breaking 15,000 machines in 2022, bringing a trend reversal close to one billion of Euro. Economic and qualitative growth has also ensured an order bank that has never been so vast and munificent, through which the Crewe-based company has sustained its performance despite “the difficult period of perturbations and crises”.
The words of the Bentley Motors press release then reiterated in the press conference by CEO Adrian Hallmark, refer to the combined effects of Covid, the conflict in Ukraine, Brexit, the semiconductor crisis and energy prices. In this context, however, it should also be remembered that the volatility caused by the set of factors above primarily affected the low income brackets and the middle class, while the number of large personal estates has reached new heights.
Rare and expensive objects – especially those unattainable by 99% of humanity – are perpetually sold-out and on the automotive side, another indicator of the historical moment is the great success of the Bentayga. In 2022, the sport utility vehicle accounted for 42% of overall Bentley volumes ahead of Continental GT (31%) and Flying Spur (29%), qualifying as the most purchased luxury SUV in the world.
During last year’s financial results conference, Hallmark conceded that after the “rock bottom we hit in 2018, the entire team has worked tirelessly to change operations and overhaul the business model. The 2022 goals represent a milestone in our long history but we must simultaneously take note of the growing risk factors”. Hallmark then reiterated how “Bentley will keep the focus on customer value rather than volumes, also adapting programs according to emerging markets. To continue along this important path – concluded the CEO – it will be necessary to maintain an attentive cost management structure and maximize customizations in an industrialized way, without ever losing sight of profitability”.