Recently, Bentley held the "Meet the Extraordinary Bentley New Car Preview Event" in Beijing and announced its market performance in 2021, and the Chinese market became bentley's largest single market in the world with a year-on-year increase of 40%. In 2022, coinciding with Bentley's 20th anniversary in China, a number of new cars will be tailored to Chinese customers and a series of anniversary celebrations will be launched. At the same time, at the 2022 Beijing International Auto Show, Bentley will also launch a blockbuster new car in the world.
At the event site, Bentley announced its 2021 performance, and Bentley Automobile reached a record high in terms of sales volume and operating profit, and achieved excellent market performance. Worldwide, Bentley cars sold 14,659 units a year, up 31% year-on-year, and operating profit more than tripled from previous record highs. With a year-on-year growth rate of 40%, the Chinese market has become bentley motors' largest single market in the world.
In 2022, the Bentley brand will accelerate the implementation of the "Beyond100" business strategy, which includes announcing production plans for all-electric models, increasing investment in sustainable transformation, and steadily advancing the goal of full carbon neutrality. Bentley expects to launch its first all-electric model within three years and one pure electric model every year for five years from 2025. All design, development and manufacturing of all electric models is carried out at bentley Crewe headquarters. The company plans to invest £2.5 billion in sustainability over 10 years to transform Bentley's entire product portfolio and production facilities, while building the Crewe headquarters plant into a world-leading next-generation digital "dream factory".
In 2022, the Bentley brand will celebrate its 20th anniversary in China by creating a number of extraordinary new works tailored to Chinese customers, as well as a series of anniversary celebrations and the widespread use of the 20th anniversary logo. Among them, the attractive new product portfolio includes the world's limited edition of the personalised Bentley Ice GT, which aims to pay tribute to the Continental GT racing car that has competed in the Ice and Snow Grand Prix, highlighting the performance strength of the Bentley brand in calmly coping with various road conditions. Four 20th anniversary edition models, including "The Pall Mall", "The Guard", "The Carnaby" and "The Savile Row", will be released this year, based on the Bentley Flying Spur, Continental GT, Continental GT Convertible and Bentayga series. Each model has a unique design concept and British culture.
In addition, Bentley is expected to launch a blockbuster new car in the world at the 2022 Beijing International Auto Show, so stay tuned.
At the event site, we also conducted an exclusive interview with Mr. Bernd Pichler, Executive General Manager of Bentley Automotive Chinese mainland and Hong Kong and Macau, combined with Bentley's market performance, brand electrification transformation and future new car planning.
Q: For the Bentley brand, how unique and important is China compared to other markets in the world?
Bissyle: I love China so much that I've been working and living in China for 17 years since I came here in 2005 and will continue to stay a few more years. Over the years, I have seen the Chinese market show an astonishing rate of development. Today, China is the world's largest automotive market and has great potential in the ultra-luxury automotive segment. In addition, the Chinese market continues to emerge more and more high-net-worth individuals, who are extremely fond of the comfort and luxurious texture that ultra-luxury cars give to their lives.
In 2021, Bentley Motors' global annual sales of 14,659 units increased by 31% year-on-year, a record high, of which 4,033 units were sold in the Chinese market and are still growing. I am very convinced of the importance and uniqueness of the Chinese market for ultra-luxury car brands, and even more so for the Bentley brand.
Q: In the era of electrification, consumer demand for travel cars is changing, will this have an impact on the Bentley brand?
Persele: Bentley is a century-old ultra-luxury car manufacturer that is now entering its second extraordinary centenary journey. With the release of the Beyond100 business strategy, we are reinventing our business model across the board to lead the way in ultra-luxury mobility that is sustainable.
Standing at the beginning of the next century, we must first observe the changes that have taken place in the entire automotive market, including the closely watched trends of electrification, digitalization, and driverless driving, and we need to be fully prepared to meet possible changes. Second, we are committed to achieving our carbon neutrality goals in all aspects, including products, R&D, manufacturing and distributors, which is an important part of the "Beyond100" business strategy.
At the product level, Bentley is accelerating its electrification transformation. For example, last year, the Bentayga Plug-in Hybrid and Bentley Flying Spur Plug-in Hybrid editions were launched, and more electrified models will be brought in the future. We expect to launch the first all-electric model in 2025 and electrify the entire range by 2030.
At the production and operation level, Bentley Motors Crewe headquarters plant is committed to becoming fully carbon neutral by 2030. For example, we have built the largest solar-powered parking lot in Europe in the factory to provide green energy for the vehicles in the factory.
Bentley is confident in the future and well positioned to be fully carbon neutral at the vehicle, production operations and other process levels. The Chinese government has also given strong support to carbon neutral operations and electrification, and Bentley will strictly comply with local laws and regulations to promote this work.
Q: In terms of new energy, what is the current proportion of Bentley plug-in and hybrid model sales? Are there higher goals in the future?
Persey: In 2021, the Bentayga series is the world's most popular Bentley product. Among them, the Bentayga plug-in hybrid version accounts for one-fifth of the total sales of Bentayga models worldwide, and accounts for 33.6% of Bentayga models in the Chinese market. It can be seen that Bentley customers are actively embracing the trend of electrification. With the launch of the Bentley Flying Spur Plug-in Hybrid, we also achieved a good order performance.
Q: In the context of electrification, how should Bentley redefine ultra-luxury, and what is the focus of future development?
Perseil: Always meeting the needs of our customers is a top priority for Bentley's future growth. We note that bentley's customers in China are becoming more youthful, with an average age of 39. They, like other slightly older but still energetic customers, are looking forward to ultra-luxury travel. We have fed this customer information back to Crewe's headquarters to demonstrate Bentley's focus on customer needs.
Bentley customers are keen to enjoy driving themselves, while there is a high demand for comfort in the rear. They hope to highlight their unique tastes and personalized expressions through their cars, and usually participate in the personalized customization process of vehicles after purchasing a car. In this regard, Bentley will continue to enhance customer service and experience.
Finally, I would like to reiterate that even in the era of electrification, every Bentley car will continue to blend performance with luxury without losing driving pleasure and ride comfort.
Q: How can ultra-luxury brands make breakthroughs in vehicle technology and process value?
Percile: In the case of the Bentley brand, in the case of plug-in hybrid models, we constantly emphasize the joy of driving, the surging performance, and the impact on the environment. Bentley customer research shows that more than 90% of customers drive their first-generation Bentayga plug-in hybrid version almost every day, mostly for urban road driving, of which more than half of the customers have a single mileage of no more than 48 kilometers, and can use electric mode throughout the process without starting the fuel engine.
In the future, with the launch of Bentley electric models, we will make more innovations and breakthroughs in the market, including digital experience, electrified mobility and future autonomous driving, etc., these market trends will bring major changes to the entire automotive industry, while creating a better and integrated service experience for customers. In any case, Bentley is well prepared.
Q: There are many challenges in 2021, including the epidemic, chip shortage and transportation, etc. Recently, Volkswagen Group said that the group's overall sales have declined, and Bentley Motors has achieved excellent market performance in 2021.
Percile: Bentley's market success is mainly due to a number of aspects, first of all, the customer's favor and support for the brand, which drives Bentley to continue to bring an innovative product portfolio and provide personalized vehicles.
The global market has experienced a series of challenges in 2021, including the epidemic, chip shortages and transportation, and Bentley still delivered 4,033 vehicles in China, achieving a 40% year-on-year increase. This also reflects that the high-net-worth population in the Chinese market is steadily expanding. More importantly, the positive and effective epidemic prevention and control measures taken by the Chinese market have promoted the economic recovery and normal operation of the market. At Crewe's headquarters, Bentley has also implemented strict epidemic prevention measures and has achieved good feedback through unremitting efforts.
Regarding the chip shortage, Bentley has not been affected at this time, mainly because our production volume is smaller than other volume brands. Of course, Bentley's outstanding performance is also inseparable from the efforts of dealers and crewe headquarters team, each Bentley car contains exquisite craftsmanship standards, which can be called a unique work of art.
Q: What are your market performance estimates for this year? What are the new initiatives in terms of products and services?
Perseil: This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Bentley brand in China, we have launched 4 limited edition models for Chinese customers, which are very British and commemorative, and our dealers also predict that these new cars will be greatly favored by Chinese customers.
Secondly, Bentley expects to launch a blockbuster new car in the world at this year's Beijing International Auto Show. This car is an extraordinary new work that we have created based on the voices and needs of our customers, and it has received unanimous praise in the internal communication phase, and I am very much looking forward to the positive market performance of the new car."
Although there are still a series of uncertainties in the global situation, we are full of confidence in the future. After that, if there is more brand information, we will update you in a timely manner.
Q: In addition to the existing Bentley Flying Spur, Bentayga and Continental GT series, will there be new models at Bentley in the future?
Pessillon: We can't give you any definitive information at this time, but what is certain is that we do have a number of exciting new models, including the launch of a plug-in hybrid version based on each car series, and the release of the first pure electric vehicle in 2025. As for the future of new car planning, we are also doing some internal tests this year, if there is more brand information will be shared with you in time.
Q: Can you share the scheduled time and estimated delivery time of the next four 20th anniversary edition models?
Perseil: We expect to deliver to our customers in the second half of this year. In fact, we spent a long time designing a 20-year-old volume model, working closely with our UK colleagues in mulliner's department to ensure that the vehicle was unique and individual, as well as fit for the Chinese market. As the Bentley brand celebrates its 20th anniversary in China, we are proud to present this exclusive portfolio to our Chinese customers.
In our cooperation with Crewe colleagues, there are always interesting collisions and exchanges. When designing the model's exclusive custom logo, the designer readjusted the embroidery pattern on the back of the seat after listening to feedback from the Chinese market. We all enjoyed working together and discussing the design process.
Q: About the four 20th anniversary edition models, how many of them are there?
Percile: A total of 80 units, 20 units per model were produced.