UPDATE: Bentley Plans To Expand Product Range As Demand For Luxury Cars Surges
03 Janvier 2012 - 2:27PM
Dow Jones News
Volkswagen AG's (VOW.XE, VLKAY) Bentley brand plans to go ahead
with a high-end sports utility vehicle that would cost more than
$140,000 as well as new versions of its Continental model to meet
strong demand for ultra-luxury cars.
"If we bring this (SUV) to the market it will be positioned
significantly above the vehicles that are currently available in
this segment," Bentley brand chief Wolfgang Duerheimer said
Tuesday.
The U.K.-based Bentley said it swung back to a profit in 2011
after two years of losses, helped by a 37% rise in sales to 7,003
vehicles, though it declined to disclose detailed full-year profit
figures. In the January-to-September period last year, the firm
narrowed its operating loss to EUR6 million from EUR145 million in
the same period in 2010.
Volkswagen, due to announce full-year earnings for all its
brands in early March, is set to make a final decision on Bentley's
SUV project "in the first quarter 2012," Duerheimer told reporters.
He said he expects "a positive decision".
In the meantime, strong global demand for Bentley's Continental
and Mulsanne models should sustain sales this year. Bentley has
"ambitious but realistic plans which reflect global economic
conditions as much as our new product line up," Duerheimer
said.
Sales growth should be "in the double-digit range" this year and
could "come close" to a new record if the economic environment
doesn't deteriorate. He said earnings are set to improve as well in
2012 as Bentley is keeping costs under control.
His comments underscore how international demand for Europe's
luxury car output continues to offset regional economic woes for
manufacturers, with record sales for Volkswagen's premium brand
Audi as well as rivals such as BMW AG (BMW.XE) and Daimler AG's
(DAI.XE) Mercedes-Benz.
Volkswagen's growth plans for Bentley could mirror the
successful expansion of models at Volkswagen affiliate Porsche
Automobil Holding SE (PAH3.XE), said Duerheimer, himself a former
head of research and development at Porsche's sports-car unit.
Bentley might launch derivatives of its Continental model, similar
to what Porsche did with its 911 model. Porsche's SUV, known as the
Cayenne, also been a big hit since its launch in 2002.
"I can well imagine a new two-seater coupe, a racing version and
a car with a new roof system," Duerheimer said, referring to
possible new versions of the Continental.
In 2011, the U.S. continued to be Bentley's largest market with
2,021 cars sold, up 32% from the previous year. China came in
second. Sales volume there doubled to 1,839 cars in 2011.
Sales in Continental Europe were up 53% to 1,187 cars, driven by
strong demand in Germany. Bentley said the U.K. market was
difficult in recent months, but sales still rose by 5% to 1,031
cars in 2011.
Duerheimer said he sees further growth potential in the U.S.,
China and Europe, particularly in Switzerland, Austria, the Balkans
and Russia.
Volkswagen, Europe's biggest European auto manufacturer, bought
Bentley in 1998 from Vickers PLC after a complex bidding war with
BMW. Bentley was spun off from Rolls-Royce Motors with the
Rolls-Royce automotive brand ending up part of BMW. Rolls-Royce
sales rose 41% to 2,441 vehicles in the first nine months of 2011,
according to latest BMW data.
-By Christoph Rauwald, Dow Jones Newswires;
+49 69 29 725 512; christoph.rauwald@dowjones.com
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