New 2016 Bentley SUV to usher in hybrids and boost sales.

Bentley sales will expand by 50 per cent between now and 2018, reflecting the influence of its forthcoming SUV that will hit the market in 2016, according to chairman and CEO Wolfgang Schreiber.

The new 4x4 model, wholly built in Crewe, is expected to reach a volume of "at least" 3000 units a year, Schreiber says.

The company is believed likely to link manufacture of the SUV with an existing model line at Crewe - probably the recently launched Continental Flying Spur - and is already upgrading its paint shop and sub-system assembly facilities to cope. Crewe will hire an extra 400 workers over the next two years to cope with the expansion, and expects its expanding group of suppliers to add another 600 workers, mainly in the UK. 

Schreiber revealed that Bentley has already had around 2000 pre-orders for the SUV, despite customers knowing little about the car's styling or price. He believes this shows the trust Bentley customers have in the project and its success. 

By 2018, Bentley will have launched its first hybrid, probably a plug-in and based on the SUV, about a year after the debut of conventional versions. 

Crewe enjoyed the best-ever year for car deliveries in its 95-year history in 2013, expanding sales by 19 per cent over an already-buoyant 2012. The Crewe-based company beat the 10,000 barrier for the first time ever, and scored its fourth consecutive year of double digit growth. 

A global total of 10,120 cars were delivered, against 8510 the previous year. The biggest expansion was in the buoyant American markets, but European regions contributed strongly, especially Germany and the UK. The domestic market's 1381 deliveries was a 25 per cent expansion, well ahead of the bullish overall growth rate. China continued as Bentley's second biggest market, taking 2191 cars, a slight decrease on the previous year's 2253. A total of 86 per cent of all cars were exported.

Schreiber claims the performance establishes Bentley as "the most sought-after luxury brand in the world", and says new models were critical to the success, especially the Flying Spur, Bentley's fastest-ever saloon. 

Schreiber says Spur sales in the final four months of the year reached 2005 units, a "phenomenal reception" for the new model when judged against annual average sales of its predecessor around 2700 units. He expects further expansion in 2014, aided by a full year's availability of the Flying Spur, and an 11 per cent growth of the company's sales network.

Bentley now has 193 showrooms in 54 regions around the world.

Source:Autocar.co.uk