Did you know that Bentley was owned by Rolls-Royce for quite a few years? After Rolls-Royce hit financial troubles, the owners sold the off company. While BMW took over Rolls-Royce, it was Volkswagen who took over Bentley. The German automaker invested $2 billion in reviving Bentley and as they say, the rest is history. Today Bentley is doing very well in the super luxury car space, competing with Rolls-Royce for market share.
India is one of the most promising markets in the world, with sales of luxury cars increasing gradually. Bentley is present in India through its tie-up with Exclusive Motors, who are the official importers for the British car brand. However this could change soon, as Volkswagen is planning to bring Bentley under the Volkswagen Group Sales India umbrella. This would result in Volkswagen becoming the official importer of Bentley cars in the country.
In May this year, Volkswagen had announced the appointment of Volkswagen Group Sales India as the official importer of Porsche. By importing themselves, VW has better control over the prices which results in higher profits for the German auto giant. Bentley cars are produced in Crewe, England and are hand built. Thus there are absolutely no chances of prices of Bentley cars coming downwards as CKD operations are not possible.
Bentley currently sells the Continental Flying Spur, Continental GT, Continetal GT Convertible and Mulsanne in the Indian market. The Bentley range starts at Rs. 2.15 crore (on-road, Mumbai). The company presented an SUV Concept – EXP 9 F at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, which could go into production next year.
