Focal points: The appointment of country manager David Simpson and retail marketing manager Emma Ireland (below) demonstrates Bentley’s renewed emphasis on the Australian and New Zealand markets.

BENTLEY Motors has restructured its regional operations to place a renewed emphasis on the Australian and New Zealand markets, appointing a specific country manager for the Antipodes in recent months – David Simpson – and bolstering its presence further late last year with the appointment of Emma Ireland as retail marketing manager.

The Australian and New Zealand operations (including other South East-Asian markets) were previously run out of Bentley’s Asia-Pacific office in Singapore, however the restructure has seen Mr Simpson relocate from the regional headquarters to Sydney as the British luxury manufacturer’s lead executive here.

Mr Simpson told GoAuto last week that the move reflected Australia and New Zealand’s stronger standing and growth potential for Bentley, which recorded 219 sales in Australia last year (up 29 units, or 15.3 per cent) and 45 sales across the Tasman (up 12 units, or 36.4 per cent).

It also marks a return of sorts for Bentley, which had a regional office here about 10 years ago serving South-East Asia, only to revert to the company’s head office in Crewe, England.

The Singapore-based operation was established in 2014 and continues to handle other markets in the region and provide support to Australia/NZ.

“Australia is a very important market for us at Bentley, a very important market strategically and we definitely see opportunity in Australia in the years to come,” Mr Simpson said.

“Also, it is a very different focus from South-East Asia; the market has different priorities, different opportunities, a very different product mix and very different customer base, so we really feel that it needs the due care and attention of a regional office here.

Emma Ireland

“In the past we had an office here many, many years ago – I think nearly 10 years ago we had a small team based here who looked after South-East Asia from Sydney; we then had an office in Singapore that looked after Australia; and we’ve kind of come full circle now.

“We still report into the Singapore office and ultimately back to headquarters in sunny Crewe.”

Mr Simpson said he expected sales growth in Australia and New Zealand to continue, particularly with the new-generation Continental GT coupe – first deliveries of which are due mid-year – and the recently unveiled V8 petrol Bentayga SUV, which is set to arrive in June.

He is no stranger to these parts, having served for more than three years as Asia-Pacific dealer sales manager and, prior to that, around five-and-a-half years as regional co-ordinator for the Asia-Pacific region.

A Scot, Mr Simpson joined Volkswagen-owned Bentley Motors in the UK in 2009, starting as a sales and marketing graduate trainee and working his way up through the ranks at Crewe in positions such as owner publications co-ordinator and sales operations co-ordinator for the UK, Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions.

Both Mr Simpson and Ms Ireland are working out of Volkswagen Group Australia’s head office at Chullora, west of the Sydney CBD, where VW and Skoda operations are also based.

Ms Ireland was previously marketing communications manager for Skoda Australia – a position she held for almost two-and-a-half years – and has also worked as a media relations executive for the group.

She previously spent about a year-and-a-half in the UK working for Mercedes-Benz as a digital marketing and CRM specialist, playing a key role in management of the German prestige auto-maker’s commercial vehicle brands – including launching the first CSI program for Mercedes-Benz Trucks in the UK.

Earlier in her career, Ms Ireland spent three years as marketing manager for leading Sydney Mercedes-Benz dealership Sandersons Rushcutters Bay and 18 months managing customer relations for the Central Coast Motor Group in Gosford, New South Wales, working across various brands including Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru and Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge.

Her new role includes managing corporate communications (press and public relations) for Bentley in Australia and New Zealand, as well as providing specific marketing and PR support for the retail network as required.

By Terry Martin