Bentley made more profit in the first six months of this year than in all of last year, as luxury car buyers purchased ever more expensive vehicles and the company reaped the benefits of a pandemic restructuring.
Operating profit for the Volkswagen-owned brand rose to €398mn in the first half of 2022, higher than the €389mn booked during the whole of 2021. Sales rose to €1.7bn, compared with €1.3bn in the same six-month period last year.
More expensive models meant customers paid more for vehicles even before adding on extras, such as bespoke wood trims, that can increase the price by tens of thousands of pounds. The average price of each Bentley vehicle rose from €186,000 last year to €213,000.