The luxury carmaker posted operating profits of 216 million euro ($353 million) fir the first quarter, up 27% on the same period in 2022.
The results reflected Bentley Motors’ best-ever first quarter, and second best-ever quarter in history.
The company’s overall revenue rose to 882 million euro ($1.44 trillion), up 9% on the previous quarter and its return on sales in the first quarter were 24.4%, up from 20.9% in 2022.
The figures reflect the overall growth in global car sales, which increased by 10% to 3,517. Broken down by region, the Americas reported a 39% increase to 1,157 cars representing 33% of overall sales, Asia Pacific reported a 11% increase to 410 cars, and the Middle East reported an increase of 66% to 278 cars. Bentayga models account for 42% of sales, according to the carmaker.
“Despite a challenging global environment, we started 2023 where we left off in 2022, with another solid set of financial figures, driving growth in revenue, operating profit and return on sales,” CEO and chair of Bentley, Adrian Hallmark says.
“Bentley’s record performance in the Americas is also especially notable, with one in three of our luxury cars now sold in the region. The introduction of the Bentayga EWB, plus the success of the Flying Spur sedan, have been key to this growth.”
Much of the drive in sales was due to a continued strong interest in model customisation, higher specification derivatives and higher option uptake, including the sales of unique Mulliner Coachbuilt and Limited Edition models.
Mulliner, which is Bentley Motors’ customised division, was relaunched in 2020 with a view to increase the carmarker’s revenue. In 2022, Mulliner’s chief commercial officer Paul Dickinson told Forbes Australia the business had tripled its production of bespoke Bentleys since the relaunch. Then, Dickinson also told Forbes the company was beginning to drive more personalised, one-of-one Bentley sales in the Middle East, while the Americas saw more vehicles sold directly from dealerships.
Earlier this year, Bentley announced it would end production of its iconic W12 engine in April 2024 as part of its Beyond 100 strategy, which will see it become “climate neutral end-to-end from 2030″.
Bentley claims the latest global figures and demand for new models will allow it to self-fund the strategy, which includes a 3 billion euro ($4.9 billion) investment in its Crewe factory, as well as launching five new BEV models in just five years, starting in 2026.
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