Bentley Motors has celebrated the 200,000th luxury car built in the company’s 100-year-plus history.
The Bentayga Hybrid, destined for a Chinese customer, met the oldest surviving Bentley EXP 2 and a number of long-serving colleagues, as it rolled off the production line at its South Cheshire plant.
The 200,000th car is the latest in 155,582 vehicles built at Crewe since 2003 – the breakthrough year the Continental GT was originally launched as the first model of the modern Bentley era.
Bentley is currently building 85 cars per day, the same output in one month two decades ago.
In the year of Bentley’s first existence 1919 through to 2002, the company built 44,418 luxury cars – 38,933 of them in Crewe.
Among that total were iconic models including the Bentley Blower, the R-Type Continental, Mulsanne, Arnage and Azure.
And records show that 84% of all cars built for the UK market are still on the road today.
The 80,000th individual, made-to-order example was built in January this year.
Bentley’s Chairman and Chief Executive, Adrian Hallmark, said: “This production of the 200,000th car is just the latest landmark on the extraordinary journey that Bentley has been travelling since its foundation in 1919.
“In 2003 the introduction of the Continental GT represented a transformative moment for the brand, and this Bentley alone, has represented 80,000 sales of our total 200,000, and created both a new segment, and a contemporary image foundation for the Bentley business.
“The pace of progress has accelerated significantly since 2003 and we are now entering the next period of transformation as we pursue our Beyond100 strategy, with the aim of positioning Bentley as the global leader in sustainable luxury mobility.”
To witness the moment, the Bentayga Hybrid and EXP 2 were joined by Bentley’s longest serving colleagues, including Steve Ward, who joined in 1977, and followed in his father’s footsteps, his own Bentley career beginning 42 years earlier.
Since 2005, the company has also built 40,000 examples of the Flying Spur, the most successful luxury sports saloon in the world.
Bentley will move to full electrification – PHEV or BEV only – by 2026, then switch the entire model range to battery electric vehicles by 2030.
The industry-leading Beyond100 Strategy will transform every aspect of the business as Bentley accelerates into its second century of luxury car production.
