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Mark O'Neill

Luxury carmaker Bentley said yesterday that it sold 32 models in China in the first half of this year, including one that cost 11.28 million yuan (HK$10.57 million), complete with flat-screen television, stereo and DVD player.

The British manufacturer, which sells only hand-made cars, entered the Chinese market last year,  with showrooms and repair centres in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

It  sold 50 units last year, with prices ranging from two million to more than 10 million yuan, ranking first among Bentley sales in Asia.

'Our target for this year is 60 and that is conservative,' said a spokesman for the Shanghai showroom.

'We sold 32 in the first half of this year, mostly to the heads of private businesses aged between 35 and 55, from Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The most expensive was the Mulliner 728 for 11.28 million yuan. It is  longer than the normal Bentley.'

This comes with an interior that you can turn into a private cinema, with a 22-inch flat screen colour television, 360-degree stereo sound and DVD player.

'Whatever you can imagine, we have in this car,' he said.

Asked who bought this top-of-the-line model, he declined to say.

'That is a commercial secret. Our clients do not want the public to know who they are.'

The spokesman said  maintenance costs for a Bentley were similar to those of a Mercedes Benz and BMW, the choice of most rich Chinese, at several thousand yuan per 10,000 kilometres.

But  repairs were more expensive because the parts and components were hand-made, he said.

The average Shanghai citizen earns about 1,500 yuan a month which means he would have to work for 618 years before he could buy the Mulliner.



China ranks first in Asia for Bentley sales as buyer pays $10m