Bentley Motors Ltd aims to double its sales on China's mainland this year to some 250 cars, a senior company official said yesterday.
Stuart McCullough, member of the board in sales and marketing, said Bentley has over 400 cars ordered from the mainland this year, of which 250 will be delivered. The company counts sales by delivery rather than orders.
The British luxury car brand, owned by Germany's Volkswagen, competes with BMW's Rolls-Royce, Maybach owned by Mercedes-Benz and Italy's Ferrari.
McCullough said a wider product range help Bentley stand in a leading position in China's super-luxury auto market.
"The notable thing about China is that in 18 months, China will become the third- or fourth-largest market for Bentley worldwide," McCullough said.
Bentley's global sales by the third quarter were more than 7,800 cars, a rise of around 19 percent from a year earlier. The growth was led by emerging markets such as China, in addition to established Western markets.
Bentley's best-selling country in Asia now is Japan, where it expects to sell 400 cars this year.
But it will only take months for China to overtake Japan as its top Asian selling nation, McCullough said in an interview with Shanghai Daily after opening a newly renovated showroom in downtown Jing'an District.
It has become the brand's flagship showroom in China, and is its largest in the Asia Pacific region.
"What we have been seeing in China is very rapid expansion of the economy, a rapid growth in wealth, and a rapidly growing demand for the finest things in life. And that's where Bentley scores," McCullough said.