Bentley looks set to join SUV rush

Bentley CEO Wolfgang Duerheimer is believed to be pressing for an off-road model which could be similar to the artist's impression above. Photo / Supplied

Bentley Motors may expand its line-up with a sport-utility vehicle to satisfy appetite for bigger luxury models.

Bentley CEO Wolfgang Duerheimer, who as Porsche development chief oversaw the sports-carmaker's push into SUVs in 2002, wants the British manufacturer to build an off-road model and has already discused his plan with executives at parent Volkswagen, sources say - on condition they not be identified.

"The traditional perception of brands - Bentley as the maker of large, luxurious sedans - is open to expansion," said Michael Tyndall, an analyst at Barclays Capital in London, adding that Bentley might be able to fetch a price of more than €120,000 ($197,000) for an SUV.

Porsche, once best known for sports cars such as the 911, now relies on the Cayenne SUV for half its deliveries. Porsche will add a second SUV in 2013 to capitalise on the model's success, while Jaguar Land Rover is mulling a crossover vehicle. Aston Martin also says it's not ruling out an SUV-type car.

Production of luxury SUVs is set to expand 15 per cent to 481,000 vehicles in 2015 from 417,000 last year, according to research firm IHS Automotive.

"The margins for these vehicles continue to be very high and may attract more players to the segment," said Henner Lehne, a Frankfurt-based IHS analyst.

England-based Bentley, part of Volkswagen's stable of ultra-luxury brands including Lamborghini and Bugatti, posted a 57 per cent surge in six-month China sales to 680 cars.

Duerheimer is keen for the carmaker to tap growing demand for SUVs in the US, China and UK, Bentley's three biggest markets, to further propel growth, the sources say.

Bentley spokeswoman Benita von Maltzahn said there were "no concrete plans" for an SUV, declining to elaborate. VW spokesman Michael Brendel declined to comment.

The UK brand, which makes sedans, convertibles and coupes based on the Mulsanne and Continental model lines, says on its website that it takes 150 hours to build a Continental GT by hand and 400 hours to make an Arnage, predecessor of the Mulsanne sedan.

Steering wheels are double-stitched using two needles, with 15 hours needed to create one wheel. Every piece of glass in a Bentley is given its final polish with finely powdered pumice normally used to polish optical lenses.

"Bentleys are known for the finest handicraft," said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Centre of Automotive Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch-Gladbach, Germany. "They'll have to aim for an absolute top-end SUV to be true to their heritage."

The Cayenne, Porsche's best-selling model, accounted for half the carmaker's 10,670 deliveries last month.

Porsche was planning to increase production of the model by 10 per cent to 20 per cent, starting next year to try to meet demand, sales chief Bernhard Maier said this month.

BMW is adding assembly of the X3 model to a factory in Chennai, India, while Daimler is spending more than US$2 billion ($2.3 billion) to boost capacity at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where M, R and GL class SUVs are made.

Volkswagen's Audi division, which started selling the Q3 compact SUV last month, might add a fourth variant to its Q3, Q5 and Q7 lineup, sales chief Peter Schwarzenbauer said.

Audi suspended summer holidays at its main German factory to maintain output of the Q5, and has extended around-the-clock production of its Q7 model at a VW plant in Slovakia until the end of the year.

"We firmly expect this boom to continue and have a lot of creative ideas for the future," Schwarzenbauer said. "The potential of the SUV market is huge."

- Bloomberg