For Bentley Bentayga, being first has its advantages

Christophe Georges, CEO of Bentley Motors Inc., the brand’s Americas unit, reported level of competition in the section is witnessed as a great detail mainly because it offers the sector believability and helps make it relevant, which is a draw to some buyers of cars that commence all over $one hundred eighty,000 and outside of.

“This new vehicle coming now is fairly essential just after all the other luxury manufacturers have launched, or virtually all have launched, their to start with SUV,” Georges informed Automotive News. “It is really great to have our next a person and hold rate in the sector, manage our leadership and stay the benchmark.”

Even with a rising list of rivals, Georges is assured the Bentayga, which has been a driver for Bentley profits in the U.S., can keep on to raise deliveries as the brand sees progress in its Americas location. The automaker sold a total of 2,913 cars in the location in 2019, up 30 p.c from 2018.

“We really don’t want to lose our share,” Georges reported. “We developed the sector, and now we are the to start with to have a next SUV, or a new a person.”

One explanation for his confidence is simply just the timing tied to the U.S. launch in 2016. Not only does Bentley now have a group of current buyers, but for these original potential buyers who leased, the freshened design will be waiting around for them.

“The conventional lease sector is about 3 several years,” Georges reported. “The lease sector signifies about 40 p.c of the profits. It is coming at the appropriate time for a good deal of current homeowners to swap the current vehicle with a new a person. We count on most of our buyers to be extremely faithful and to convert into the upcoming vehicle when it is time to do so.”

Georges reported the 2021 Bentayga will arrive at U.S. dealerships by the end of this quarter. Bentley is launching the Bentayga with a V-8 engine to start with, adopted by the W-12-driven Pace variant and then a plug-in hybrid design.

The rollout is a shift from when the Bentayga to start with went on sale in the U.S. Then, it was available with a W-12 to begin with, adopted by a V-8 in 2018, a Pace general performance variant in 2019 and a plug-in hybrid this 12 months.

“We started out with V-8 simply just mainly because it is purchaser desire,” reported Georges. “Seventy p.c of our buyers are opting for the V-8.”