Press Releases
24 January 2012
BENTLEY MULSANNE AND CONTINENTAL GT MAINTAIN AWARD WINNING FORM
Crewe — Bentley Motors has started 2012 with four more honours, from China’s highly-influential Hurun Report, The World Luxury Association as well as The Detroit News, maintaining the company’s award-winning form in 2011.
The Bentley Continental GT coupe triumphed in China winning the ‘Best Super Luxury Car’ at the Hurun Report’s Best of the Best 2012 awards and the Bentley Continental FlyingSpur saloon secured the coveted Limited Edition Super Luxury Car title.
In a unique collaboration with the famous British design company Linley, Bentley created 10 Continental Flying Spurs, exclusively for the Chinese marketplace, which feature specially selected veneers in Santos rosewood applied to the fascia, console, waistrail and roof console.
Widely recognised as the foremost authority on the rapid changes taking place amongst China’s high net worth individuals, the Hurun Reportproduces 20 magazine issues a year, made up of a monthly main book and supplements that target the special interests of China’s wealth creators.
The World Luxury Association also confirmed Bentley’s place amongst the world’s Top 100 Most Valuable Luxury Brands at their recent awards ceremony in Beijing, dubbed the “Luxury Oscar Awards.” Bentley lined up alongside Prada, Cartier, Chanel, Bugatti and Harley-Davidson in the exclusive rankings.
In the United States, for the second time the Bentley Mulsanne received the annual Readers’ Choice award for the ‘Most Luxurious’ vehicle from The Detroit News. Each year, the newspaper takes 100 readers to Detroit’s North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) and asks them to select the most appealing vehicles in a variety of categories.It is also the only NAIAS award chosen by consumers.
The award maintains a rich vein of form around the world for the Mulsanne. Bentley’s flagship is the current holder of the Robb Reportmagazine’s ‘Best of the Best’ award (secured at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show) and also was chosen by Centurion Magazine readers as their outstanding Best Limousine/Saloon Car. Centurion is the international luxury lifestyle magazine for holders of the most exclusive charge card from American Express®, the Centurion® Card. The Mulsanne has also secured awards from Gulf Connoisseur magazine as well asCAR Middle East.
Notes to editors
- Bentley Motors is the third largest R&D investor in the UK's automotive sector and the 18th largest nationally. The company employs almost 4,000 people in Crewe which is home to all its operations including design, R&D, engineering and production. The combination of fine craftsmanship, using skills that have been handed down through generations, alongside engineering expertise and cutting-edge technology is unique to UK luxury vehicle manufacturers such as Bentley. It is also an example of high-value British manufacturing at its best. Bentley exports over £500m worth of goods every year to established markets like the US, as well as emerging markets such as China and South America.
- Bentley’s global sales for 2011 increased by 37% with 7,003 cars delivered. This growth was led by the Chinese region (1876 cars sold) with mainland China (excl. Hong Kong and Taiwan) up 104.17% (1664 cars). However, the Americas remains the biggest market for Bentley with 2,021 cars delivered (up 32%) in 2011. All major markets were up with Europe up by over a half, due mainly to high demand in Germany (up by nearly 90%). The UK market proved to be more challenging, but still saw an increase of over five per cent. The surge in sales was led by demand for the new Continental GT. Over one third of all Bentley sales in 2011 were GTs with 2404 delivered. December 2011 was Bentley’s best month since the recession and the second highest ever, boosted by the first deliveries of the new soft-top Continental GTC. We have ambitious but realistic plans to continue this growth in 2012.
For further information about this press release please contact:
Michael Baumann – Communications Director
Michael.Baumann@Bentley.co.uk + 44 (0) 1270 535 189
Martin Broomer. Head of Product Communications, Bentley Motors
martin.broomer@bentley.co.uk + 44 (0)1270 535 044
Richard Durbin. Product Public Relations Manager, Bentley Motors
Richard.durbin@bentley.co.uk + 44 (0)1270 535 043
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