The 2020 Bentley Continental GT First Edition
Mack Hogan | CNBC
Bentley Motors sold a record number of luxury sedans and SUVs last year, while the rest of the auto industry struggled to contain losses from the coronavirus pandemic, the 101-year-old automaker said Tuesday.
The Volkswagen company sold 11,206 vehicles in 2020 – despite a seven-week shutdown of the factory in England during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic last spring. The company sold 11,006 cars in 2019.
Bentley sells some of the world’s most expensive and rarest cars. The entry-level SUV, the Bentayga, starts at around $ 180,000, while the most exclusive model, the Mulliner Bacalar, retails for around $ 2 million.
Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark said he is “cautiously optimistic” about business in 2021 “as much remains uncertain,” according to a press release. He said last year’s sales record is a “strong measure” of the company’s potential as it revolves around an all-electric car business by 2030.
Sales in America rose 4.2% and remained Bentley’s main market in 2020, but the growth came from a whopping 48.5% increase in sales in China. The two markets accounted for 53% of Bentley’s sales in 2020, the company said, offsetting sales declines in the UK, Europe and the Middle East in 2020.