People’s obsession with expensive, crisis-resistant cars: Bentley figures

High customer interest in the new models has led to a record order book of just under 10,000 vehicles, Bentley said.

Bentley’s first-quarter operating profit rose 162% from the same period last year, as rising vehicle prices offset the loss of offshore vehicles and pandemic delivery problems in China.

The Volkswagen Group unit said that high customer interest in the new models led to a record order book of just under 10,000 vehicles for the 102-year-old carmaker.

Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark said about 200 vehicles, about 75 of them highly customized orders for certain US customers, fell on a ship that caught fire off the Azores in February. Hallmark said these sales were largely recovered in April.

Sales in China were affected by the pandemic shutdowns, which also affected the ability to transport cars inside the truck.

“The crises we had with COVID, semiconductors and now the tragedy in Ukraine have not affected the desire of customers to invest in luxury goods and certainly not in Bentley,” Hallmark told Reuters. “We’re doing really well.”

A luxury brand

The drop in sales follows a record year for Bentley in 2021, as travel pandemic restrictions have left wealthy consumers with more disposable income, increasing sales of premium and luxury vehicles in key global markets such as China and the United States.

Hallmark said that in the absence of any other supply chain issues, the company could produce about 15,000 vehicles this year, up from 14,659 last year.

Vehicle sales in the first quarter fell 5% to 3,203 from 3,358 a year earlier, with sales down 9% in the Americas and 29% in China.

But the average revenue per vehicle increased by 15%, to 212,000 euros, from 184,000 euros a year earlier, as customers opted for more personalized options. Hallmark said customers have embraced the ability to customize seat skin, stitching, seat configurations and a host of other options.

“Dealers are making limited editions, special packages for individual customers, and it’s just getting more and more popular,” he said.

Bentley’s revenue rose 41 percent to 813 million euros from 578 million a year earlier, and the carmaker’s operating profit rose to 170 million euros from 65 million euros. euro.

Profits were also partially increased by a restructuring program that began in 2018.