Bentley luxury drives on despite recession

Sales of the seemingly recession-proof luxury vehicles are up in every region leading to a global increase of 32% (3,929 cars delivered to customers). The US has re-emerged as Bentley's number one market with deliveries up by 25.7% (1,140 cars delivered to customers). Sales in China are also strong with results up 55.7% (1,059 cars delivered to customers). The flagship Mulsanne sold strongly in both markets and saw an overall increase of 30% as the Diamond Jubilee Special Edition became available to customers. The VW subsidiary's strong performance in its two largest regions was underpinned by an increase in sales in all other regions. In Europe results were up 22.9% with 607 deliveries to customers, and in the UK they increased by 4.5% with 557 deliveries to customers. Further afield Bentley saw deliveries increase by 47.9% in the Middle East (346 cars). Results were also up some 52.6% in Asia Pacific and 114.3% in Japan. Wolfgang Duerheimer, Bentley's chief executive said he was "very optimistic about the future for Bentley".