Bentley’s production was shutdown for 7 weeks beginning in March, and running at a 50 percent output for a further 9 weeks thereafter, as social distancing measures were introduced. A resulting comprehensive redesign of the production facility enabled Bentley to meet this global demand while in parallel maintaining these social distancing protocols to the current day and beyond.
The Americas remained Bentley’s number one region although a strong performance in China, posting an increase of 48 percent, ran it close.
Key to the company’s ongoing success was the introduction of a number of exciting new models, combined with greater global availability of other popular models. In particular the all-new Flying Spur was launched internationally and received a phenomenal reception from customers and media alike.
This demand was increased further in October with the introduction of a high-performance V8 engine derivative.
The Continental GT (24 percent) and GT Convertible (15 percent) together accounted for 39 percent of total sales, finishing the year as Bentley’s number one selling model line. However, in spite of the run out of the previous generation model, and delays to market entry of the all-new Bentayga due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the pioneering, go-anywhere SUV was still the biggest selling single model, accounting for 37 percent of total sales.
The Americas region delivered 3,035 cars, an increase of four per cent on the corresponding figure for 2019, 2,913. Placing the region as Bentley’s number one market, this strong performance was boosted by the introduction of the Flying Spur and a full year of sales of the Continental GT and GT Convertible luxury Grand Tourer.
Bentley’s biggest growth was reserved for China, posting a sales increase of 48 percent, 2,880 cars, against 1,940, as the traditional sedan market welcomed the introduction of the all-new Flying Spur, with Bentayga sales remaining strong.
Europe closed the year with the delivery of 2,193 cars, against a figure of 2,670 in 2019, a decrease of 18 percent with the region impacted because of the market entry delays of the all-new Bentayga.
Bentley’s home market in the UK continued its consistent strong performance, recording sales of 1,160 cars. This represented a decrease of 22 percent over the previous year.
Bentley delivered 735 cars to the Middle East in 2020, against a total of 852 the previous year. Finally, the Asia Pacific region posted an increase of 6 percent, delivering 1,203 cars, against 1,139 sold in 2019.
