Korea, 5th largest market for Bentley

Bentley Motors's new flagship SUV Bentley Bentayga EWB, which was launched in the Korean market last December. (Bentley Motors Korea)

UK luxury car manufacturer Bentley Motors said Monday it achieved an all-time high sales record in the South Korean market last year, making it the leading market in the Asia-Pacific region and the fifth largest globally for the second year running.

Bentley Motors Korea accelerated its sales trajectory in the domestic market for the third year in a row, with 810 units sold in 2023, surpassing the sales milestones of 506 units in 2021 and 775 in 2022, according to data from the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association.

The sales breakdown for Bentley Korea included 349 Flying Spurs, 203 Bentaygas, and 258 Continental GTs. Global sales leaders were the United States with 3,679 units, followed by China, Hong Kong, Macao at 3,010, the UK at 1,249 and Germany at 989.

The Korean market's growth aligns with the overall trend in the Asia-Pacific region, which posted a 4 percent year-over-year increase in sales, totaling 2,121 units.

Bentley Korea attributes its success to the popularity of derivative models like the sporty S, luxurious and customizable Mulliner, and comfort-focused Azure. These variants accounted for 82 percent of Bentley's Korean sales last year.

The Flying Spur, Bentley’s premier grand touring luxury sedan, has performed particularly well in the Korean market, and its cumulative domestic sales surpassed 2,000 units last year.

Bentley Korea also expanded its local offering with the launch of a new luxury SUV, the new Bentley Bentayga EWB, last December. Bentayga SUVs accounted for 44 percent of Bentley's global sales last year.

Despite a global sales decrease of about 11 percent from the record-breaking year of 2022, Bentley's sales figures for 2023 still represented the third-highest in the company's history at 13,560 units.

By Moon Joon-hyun(mjh@heraldcorp.com)