Monday 29th October 2007

Bentleys going too quickly

Sales success forces production rethink

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Quick, build another one

Not to be outdone by its former stablemate Rolls-Royce, Bentley has hinted it might have to expand.

Having just announced bumper sales figures just days ago the company is now trying to work out how to build more cars.

Last week Rolls-Royce confirmed development plans for its Goodwood headquarters and manufacturing facility to keep up with demand.

Speaking at the Tokyo Motor Show Stuart McCullough, member of the Bentley board for sales and marketing, said: ‘In four years our volume has grown from 1,000 to 10,000 cars.

‘The current volume is closer to where we want it to be, but we may have to change the way we produce cars.

‘At Crewe we currently work a two-shift system, so as an example we could go to a three-shift system.

‘But we won’t make those changes until we are certain the volumes are safe. We’re reluctant to push too many cars into the market place, and the worst thing we could do to our customers is cheapen the product they drive.’

Mr McCullough confirmed Bentley’s sales had now hit 1,000 units in the Asia Pacific region alone.

Japan is currently the biggest market, and new dealerships will open in the cities of Tokyo and Yokohama in the next year.

China is also a growth area, with the number of showrooms rising from six to nine by this time next year.

Sales of 200 units were expected for 2007 but they actually hit 400.

‘It’s a fact that we have a premium position in China and we can’t keep up with demand,’ said Mr McCullough.   

‘Because we have high-roofed, extended wheelbase cars we dominate the “chairman of the board” market there.’

[Fetchez la vache]

I don't care about the ownership. It's GREAT to see big B doing well

[pSyCoSiS]

Must admint I have seen alot of these on the road recently.

Big in size and ooze class - just hope they don't become too much of a common sight!

[bencollins]

1k to 10k in four years!!!
That is a brilliant achievement from what was basically an anachronistic financially dead duck. Gut gemacht bis zee german management.

[flattotheboards]

"Having just announced bumper sales figures just days ago" ithats proof that footballers cant drive

[mark3man]

One could also say that they had managed to offload 1,000 a year of cars that no one really wanted, but when they built the right cars, hey, suprise, suprise, they sold very well....

[Balmoral Green]

Except that sales of the 'old school' cars have risen by 75%. It is great that the sausage machine churning out VW thingys has led to a resurgence of interest in the old dinosaurs too, as well as new dinosaurs like the Brooklands Coupe.

[johnnyv6]

i served my time as an engineer with royces (as us insiders called the place lol) but left many years ago now and i agree with Stuart McCullough swamp the market place and you take away the very thing bentleys and royces sold for....exclusivity, dinosaurs or not they screamed "out of my way peasant !" in a way that no other manufacturer in the world ever could or can emulate, perhaps in the rethink the present level of production which must be giving the uber bean counters stiffies, levels (given the unit price of the cars,) could be pegged to present numbers, that way both elements are preserved. but what i think would be the crassest thing they could do would be to "open" a plant in china or korea or some such to cater for increased demand, the whole cach'e of the mark would once more plummet like a greased house brick and with it sales(even so i BET some umlauts considering it as we speak !)

[Cerbman]

From the comments above, blast those RAF pilots etc, if only Germany had won WW2, we'd be speaking German too.

[B10BRW]

Bentley used to have a certain cachet, like a Rolls you knew you had arrived.

These days they are becoming common like Mercedes, who wants to be put in the same social group as a thick Footballer.

[DoctorFan]

I'm very proud that Bentley is doing so well but like other posters I think trying to build even more cars would be detrimental to the prestige and history that the marque holds. Just because the firm is owned by a bigger fish it shouldn't mean it has to feed like one too. The whole point of them is exclusivity, the waiting list when you put your deposit down on a new one etc etc.

[zagato]

Those with an ounce of understated class would buy a Phaeton