BENTLEY Motors is expecting its long run of sales growth to continue in Australia this year after recording 219 new registrations in 2017 – up 15.3 per cent, or 29 units compared to the previous year.

Ongoing record sales in New Zealand are likewise anticipated – up from 45 deliveries last year, which was a 36.4 per cent year-on-year improvement (+12 units) – as the British sports-luxury car manufacturer looks forward to a strong second half of the year with first examples of the highly anticipated third-generation Continental GT coupe and the freshly-minted petrol V8 version of the Bentayga SUV both due mid-year.

Speaking to GoAuto last week, Bentley Motors’ recently appointed country manager for Australia and New Zealand David Simpson said the two new additions would bolster the line-up, which as well as Bentayga and the current Continental coupe and convertible range includes the Mulsanne and Flying Spur sedans.

Bentley sold 84 SUVs last year (+52.7%), 110 two-door models (+0.9%) and 25 sedans (-3.8%).

The 219 total marks eight years of unbroken annual sales growth, climbing from just 37 units in 2009 to 65 units in 2012 and, with buyers lining up for new models such as the more affordable Continental GT V8, leaping to 121 units in 2013.

Since then, Bentley has forged ahead with 135 sales in 2014, 158 in 2015 and, with Bentayga in the mix, 190 units in 2016, before cracking 200 last year.

Across both Australia and New Zealand, 50 per cent of last year’s sales were for the current Continental GT coupe and convertible, 40 per cent for Bentayga and the remaining 10 per cent Flying Spur and Mulsanne combined.

Of the 710 swansong limited-edition Continental Supersports (coupe and convertible) produced globally, 25 were delivered to the region.

“We know that Australia is a very strong two-door market for us, but Australia in itself is also a very important SUV market,” Mr Simpson said.

“That’s been very important for us, to have both the Continental and the Bentayga in the market at the same time.

“We had a very strong year last year. We were very, very happy with 15 per cent growth year-on-year and that was really down to having a full year of Bentayga in the market – in both the W12 and the diesel; 2018 is going to see us have the new Continental GT, which we are really excited about, and Bentayga V8 petrol, which we’re very excited about.

“So we have a lot of new product this year. We would expect to continue, if not better, that growth that we saw last year, into 2018.”

Mr Simpson said there were no supply issues restricting Australian sales, with the Antipodes now further up the list in terms of market prioritisation, “so we should see new Continental GT before America, for example”.

“We’re very excited about the second half of 2018 and having two new products in the market, which we think are very well suited to the Australian market: the two-door and the SUV,” he said.

In particular, the Australian chief has high hopes on a strong response from customers – particularly buyers who are new to the brand – for the redesigned Continental GT.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of customers who are going to start to move into a Bentley with this new coupe,” he said.

Previously Bentley’s Asia-Pacific dealer sales manager before taking over responsibility for the Antipodes a few months ago, Mr Simpson also said that sales growth and customer advocacy – from new buyers and those already loyal to the brand – would be underpinned by ongoing developments at a retail level, which include the opening of a new standalone flagship dealership in Sydney and, in the second half of the year, a new site on the Gold Coast.

Bentley’s Antipodean network covers Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and, across the Tasman, Auckland.

“We’re very excited to see that Bentley has a new home in Sydney, we have another standalone site in Melbourne, so we think our retailer network is in really good shape,” he said.

He also pointed to the opening last month of New Zealand’s brand-new purpose-built flagship dealership in Auckland, which he described as “one of the best retailers that we’ve got around the world”.

“We expect New Zealand to see the same levels of growth as Australia year-on-year,” he said.

Asked about the current climate in which some prestige car brands are trading at record levels while others are finding conditions difficult, Mr Simpson said Bentley was particularly well placed with both two-door and SUV models in its stable.

He also acknowledged that customers at the top end of the market tend to have more than one brand of vehicle in their garage, and that new-model lifecycles often dictated buying patterns.

“Customers at our end of the market are very interested in what’s new, and I think you often seen peaks throughout the year of new models entering in the market, and you see customers flocking to what is new,” he said.

“So you see a lot of peaks and troughs when it comes to brand-new model introductions, which is something that we are looking forward to with Continental GT.

“When it comes to the upper end of the market, customers tend to have a few brands in their garages … and I think because we have a coupe (and) because we have the SUV, we often find that we can cater to customers’ needs quite well as opposed to just being an SUV manufacturer or supercar.”

By Terry Martin