2022 Was Bentley's Most Profitable Year In Its 104-Year Existence

Mar. 17, 2023 5:35 AM ET by Jay Traugott Luxury / 5 Comments

This can partially be attributed to more Limited Editions and coachbuilt vehicles.

Bentley has announced that 2022 was its best financial sales and profit year to date with a €708 million (around $751 million) operating profit - an increase of €319 million ($338 million) from 2021 - and record vehicle sales reaching 15,174 units.

Compared to 2018, operating profits are up by nearly €1 billion. 2022 saw an 82% growth in profit from a 4% growth in volume. Yes, the ultra-wealthy are doing just fine, and they love spending their money on high-end Bentleys.

Last year was also the first time the English marque sold more than 15,000 vehicles in a single year. Return on sales (ROS), a measurement of how efficiently a company turns sales into profits, increased to 20.9% from 13.7% in 2021, It's the highest in Bentley's 104-year existence. This increase can be attributed to buyers going for highly optioned models, along with an increase in limited edition models and bespoke coachbuilt projects.

Bentley

Bentley

These figures are vital as Bentley is re-investing a significant portion of its profits in its Beyond100 strategy, which will see it become an all-electric brand.

Beginning in 2026, it will launch five new all-electric models over the course of five years. This is also a time of transition; the final W12 combustion engine is scheduled to be built in April 2024. It will have a fully electrified lineup by 2030.

"Since the low point of 2018, the whole team at Crewe has been working intensively to restructure the business model, in parallel with launching successive segment-leading new models and features. Last year marked a milestone in this journey," said Adrian Hallmark, Chairman and CEO of Bentley. "An almost €1 billion profit turnaround has been achieved since 2018 despite an unprecedented period of disruptions and crises including Brexit, Covid, Semiconductor supply, Ukraine and UK economic instability."

Bentley

Hallmark added that the company had created a sustainable business model with a breakeven point of 65% of its production capacity. And speaking of sales, the Continental GT and GT Convertible made up nearly one-third of Bentley's overall sales last year. The GT Speed consisted of 31% of all Continental sales. The Flying Spur had 28% of total sales, and Bentley pointed out that the launch of the hybrid variant played a vital role in that.

Orders for 2023 are already piling in, and Bentley says it's closely monitoring increasing "volatile and risk factors," which we interpret as global economic conditions.

"We will maintain focus on customer value rather than sales volume and adapt our plan according to the emerging market situation," Hallmark concluded.