Bentley Motors revved up about Middle East

Bentley Motors is the latest luxury car maker to report record results in the Middle East after sales increased an eye-watering 48 per cent in the first half.

Bentley delivered 346 premium vehicles to customers in the first six months of the year

Bentley Motors is the latest luxury car maker to report record results in the Middle East after sales increased 48 per cent in the first half.

The British marque delivered 346 premium vehicles to customers in the first six months of the year compared with 234 in the same period last year. It joins the German car makers BMW and Audi in reporting record sales periods, while Rolls-Royce, also a British manufacturer, enjoyed 22 per cent  growth across the region.

“The results we have achieved in the first six months of 2012 are above our expectations and a great leap from the same period in 2011,” said Chris Buxton, Bentley’s regional director for the Middle East, Africa and India.

“With the New GT V8 having just arrived in the region and new showrooms due to open in Abu Dhabi and Qatar by the end of the year, we are expecting our best sales record to date.”

The New Continental GT V8, which is more fuel efficient than some of its predecessors, is expected to increase full-year sales as customers begin to receive delivery in the second half of the year. The combined sales of the Continental GT and GTC made up half of the total sales in the region for the first half.

Al Habtoor Motors said this month it would have a record year for Bentley cars in the UAE thanks to the launch of the V8 model. The car maker has already pre-sold 45 V8s at Dh750,000 (US$204,192) each.

Car sales have accelerated across the Middle East this year as -Arabian Gulf citizens have -benefited from huge levels of infrastructure investment and direct transfers that have stimulated spending.

Audi delivered a total of 4,274 vehicles to customers in the region in the first six months of this year.

BMW delivered 10,352 cars, including sales of the Mini marque, which was a 13 per cent increase on the corresponding period last year. For both brands, the first-half sales were record figures.

Globally, Bentley’s sales for the first half also performed robustly, increasing 32 per cent as 3,929 cars were delivered to customers.

Despite burgeoning consumer demand in China, the Americas remains Bentley’s largest market, with sales up 25.7 per cent as 1,140 cars were delivered.

But China continues to close on this at a rapid rate, with sales up 55.7 per cent as 1,059 cars were delivered.