Luxury carmaker Bentley had a record year in 2020 as other automakers struggled in pandemic

Bentley Motors bought a record variety of its luxurious sedans and SUVs final year as the remainder of the auto business struggled to stem losses from the coronavirus pandemic, the 101-year-old carmaker mentioned Tuesday.

The Volkswagen-owned firm bought 11,206 autos in 2020 — regardless of a seven-week closure of its manufacturing unit in England through the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic final spring. The firm bought 11,006 automobiles in 2019.

Bentley sells a number of the most costly and uncommon automobiles in the world. Its entry-level SUV, the Bentayga, begins at round $180,000, whereas its most unique mannequin, the Mulliner Bacalar, sells for round $2 million.

Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark mentioned he’s “cautiously optimistic” concerning enterprise in 2021 “as much remains uncertain,” in response to a press launch. He mentioned final year’s gross sales record is a “strong measure” of the corporate’s potential as it pivots to turn out to be a totally electrical automobile firm by 2030.

Sales in the Americas rose by 4.2% and remained Bentley’s high market in 2020, however its development got here from a whopping 48.5% gross sales bounce in China. The two markets accounted for 53% of Bentley’s gross sales in 2020, in response to the corporate. That offset gross sales declines in the United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East in 2020.