Bentley wins £3m growth fund grant

The new grant funding will help support the development of a new powertrain application which will enable Bentley – owned by the German automotive giant Volkswagen – to exploit new export markets. Bentley said it would safeguard over 200 jobs and also create a small number of additional positions within the company's 900-strong engineering department. Bentley chairman and chief executive, Wolfgang Dürheimer, said: "This is a real boost for Bentley which has one of the most highly skilled automotive workforces in the country and, uniquely, has now been awarded two RGF grants. It shows that the Government recognises the importance of Bentley and the contribution we make to high value manufacturing and UK exports." "Our customers expect the very best in terms of exclusivity, technology, quality and engineering excellence which requires significant ongoing investment in R&D. This is why we retain such a strong engineering capability exclusively for Bentley here in the UK. This grant will help safeguard those operations as we look to develop new powertrains which appeal to new markets and new customers." The powertrain research and development will take place at the Crewe plant.