Bentley shifts its global thrust into high gear

A Bentley GT Speed model is pictured at a Shanghai auto show, April 20, 2013. [Photo by Hao Yan / chinadaily.com.cn]

According to Bentley's own statistics, the company has an approximately 30 percent share of China's super-luxury car market, which is a segment that includes the likes of Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz.

Schreiber said Bentley's advantage is its good combination of luxury and performance, as the company emphasizes both.

Bentley entered the Chinese market in 2002. Schreiber said the biggest challenge the company encountered was in persuading Chinese customers to test-drive the car, as the experience of sitting in a showroom and being on the road are quite different.

He said the heavy traffic congestion in big Chinese cities contributed to this challenge, as there are not many long stretches of road where a driver can fully experience the car's accelerating, braking and other functions.

To overcome the challenge, Bentley now uses race courses and country roads for test drives. "They are astonished to find how easy it is to drive the car," Schreiber said.

As of December 2013, there are more than 9,000 cars on Chinese roads.

Bentley's cars are made in the English Midlands town of Crewe, where it employs about 3,700 workers. The cars are exported whole to China and other international markets.

In recent years, Western car brands have begun establishing joint ventures with Chinese carmakers to manufacture cars in China for the domestic market. For example, Jaguar Land Rover has partnered with China's Chery Automobile Co Ltd to open a factory in Changshu, in Jiangsu province.

But Schreiber said Bentley will keep manufacturing in Crewe in order to maintain its quality and prestige.

As Crewe is home to all of Bentley's operations, including design, research and development, engineering and production, the company finds it more efficient to keep production there, he said.

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