The British VW subsidiary is doing better than ever in its 104-year history.
(Photo: Reuters)
London The British VW subsidiary Bentley Motors achieved a record result in its more than 100-year history last year. The operating profit of the luxury car manufacturer rose by 319 million or more than 80 percent to 708 million euros in 2022.
“Despite Brexit, Corona, bottlenecks in semiconductor supplies, the war in Ukraine and economic instability in Great Britain, we have been able to achieve a turnaround in earnings of almost one billion euros since 2018,” said Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark in an interview with journalists.
Bentley had “the best time in one of the worst possible times,” said the Briton. Hallmark attributed the success to better-equipped model versions, greater use of customization, and the sale of limited editions and “Coachbuilt collectibles”. As a result, the return on sales rose to 20.9 percent. Two years ago it was less than 14 percent.
The traditional company near Manchester generated sales of almost 3.4 billion euros last year. In total, Bentley sold 15,174 vehicles. This corresponds to an increase of almost 20 percent compared to the previous year and is also a new record.
Hallmark is particularly proud of the carmaker’s transformation. Within just a decade, Bentley will evolve from the world’s largest manufacturer of twelve-cylinder engines to a pure supplier of electric vehicles. From 2030 only electric vehicles will be built in Crewe. One in five new Bentleys already has a hybrid engine.
Large investments are to be financed from the company’s own resources
The switch to electric vehicles will require investments totaling three billion euros over the next ten years, which the company intends to finance from its own resources. “We don’t want to go to VW in Wolfsburg and ask for financial support,” Hallmark said. He also rejects higher debts.
Despite the higher “macroeconomic risks”, Bentley sees itself well prepared for the current year. At the end of 2022, the order book was thicker than ever. In view of the limited capacities, one cannot expect massive volume growth in the next three years, emphasized the Bentley boss.
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