Bentley Motors, a UK-based unit of Volkswagen Group, expects sales in the mainland to double this year as the country's fast economic growth drives demand for luxury cars.
First-quarter sales of Bentleys, which entered the mainland market five years ago, rose 170 per cent from a year ago to 40 units. The company sold 123 cars last year, up 100 per cent.
By comparison, its rival Rolls-Royce sold 805 units last year, up 60 per cent from 2005.
'From the consumption pattern, we can see China is changing rapidly. People who bought this around 10 million yuan car had five million liquid assets before,' Stuart McCullough, a Bentley board member, said on the sidelines of the Shanghai motor show. 'Nowadays, those who buy the car have 30 million liquid assets, which is a 25 per cent year-on-year growth.'
Bentley plans to add two more dealers to its six in the mainland this year, with one in Chengdu, Sichuan province, and another in Dalian or Shenyang, Liaoning province.
'Our dealers are moving to northeastern and western parts of China,' Mr McCullough said.
