Bentley Motors achieved its third best ever year in 2023 with global sales of 13,560 luxury cars. Although an 11 per cent decrease on 2022, Bentley’s best ever result, interest in luxury personalization reached higher levels than before. Around three-quarters of customers went beyond the 46 billion different configurations available from the standard options range to add bespoke content from Bentley’s Mulliner division, representing a 43 per cent rise over 2022, an indication of the desire for truly unique exclusivity in the luxury industry.
Customers were also increasingly attracted to higher revenue models such as Azure, S and Speed, the mix of which reached 70 per cent up from 30 per cent in 2022. The Bentayga Extended Wheelbase also exceeded expectations reaching more than a third of the company’s SUV orders in its first full-year on sale.
Bentley’s range of hybrid vehicles remained popular, with the UK being the leading market with one in four Flying Spur and Bentayga customers choosing the hybrid option. Looking at regional performance, difficult market conditions persisted and although there was positive growth in Asia Pacific (5 per cent up) and the Middle East, India and Africa (2 per cent up), key markets such as China and the UK declined by 18 per cent in both cases.
The trend for SUV buying continued as Bentayga remained Bentley’s number one model, accounting for 44 per cent of total sales and reinforcing its position as the most successful luxury SUV in the world. Furthermore, consistent appeal continued for the Continental GT and GT Convertible, accounting for nearly a third of sales, 31 per cent, with the Flying Spur, the world’s finest luxury four-door grand tourer, reaching 25 per cent of total sales.
In spite of challenging conditions in key regions around the world, the Americas maintained its position as the biggest selling global market. Interestingly, Bentley’s home market in the UK is now the number one selling region for hybrid models by proportion, with 27 per cent of sales in 2023 selected as a hybrid option.
Commenting on the global sales results, Adrian Hallmark, Chairman and CEO of Bentley Motors, said: “The luxury market was not immune from the challenging market conditions seen around the world in the second half of 2023 and despite this we were able to deliver our third highest retail position in history and enter 2024 with a strong order bank. Building on this, our quality of sales was much greater, with significant increases in our higher value derivatives, and a significant growth in demand for bespoke personalization.
“We remain cautiously optimistic for the year ahead, with a continued robust global demand by market and model, high levels of interest in our hybrid models and with more to follow this year.”
