Bentley breaks yearly profits record within first half of 2022

Bentley has broken its overall annual profit record within the first six months of 2022, despite having almost closed its factory three times.

It posted profits of €398 million (£333.5m) – €9m (£7.7m) more than the record of €389m (£325.8m) set in 2021.

A spokesperson for Bentley told Autocar: “We’ve almost had to shut the factory three times due to possible parts shortages, either caused by Ukraine [restricting the supply of wiring looms] or [the shortage of] semiconductors.”

He added that production of wiring looms never stopped thanks to “those brave people” and that Bentley was a priority for semiconductor supply within the Volkswagen Group, meaning the brand is currently producing cars at its “highest rate ever".

The Bentley Bentayga was its biggest seller, claiming 40% of sales (2960), followed by the Bentley Continental GT (33%; 2441) and the Bentley Flying Spur (27%; 1997). According to the spokesperson, the Bentley Bentayga Hybrid accounted for around one in four sales of the model.

Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark attributed the success to the brand’s Mulliner personalisation programme, which experienced a “significant increase in demand and capitalisation”.

This meant the firm’s revenue per car for the first half of 2022 increased by €27,000 (£22,625) compared with 2021 – from €186,000 (£155,863) to €213,000 (£178,489).

Bentley sold 7398 cars in the first half of 2022, with 2068 going to customers in the US, the brand’s biggest market so far this year. Sales in Europe were up 33% compared with the same point in 2021, to 1524, and up 44% in the UK, to 795.