Bentley drives in new Flying Spur at Rs 3.1 crore

Luxury carmaker Bentley on Tuesday launched its all new super premium sedan Flying Spur priced at Rs 3.1 crore (ex-showroom Delhi), betting big on India, where it expects to clock annual sales of 'hundreds of units' by 2016-17.

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The company said it will launch all new global models, including the newly announced SUV, in the country in future to tap the potential of the market.

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It is expecting double digits growth in sales in India this year although it has not shared the absolute numbers.

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"India is a very important market for Bentley... it is the hub of luxury. We believe in the long term potential of the market. We see sales to peak around hundreds of units rather than tens of units annually now, by 2016-17," Bentley Regional Manager (India, South. Africa and Middle East), Chris Buxton told PTI.

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With India becoming a fast growing market for SUVs, he said the launch of the company's new vehicle will help in boosting sales in India.

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"We see a big potential for our upcoming SUV in India. We will keep bringing all our latest models here," Buxton added. Currently, India accounts for about 1-2 per cent of Bentley's global sales, the number of which it does not disclose.

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"That will become around 5-7 per cent when we hit peak sales around 2017 with the launch of the SUV," he said. Recently, Bentley had announced its foray into the SUV segment with a new model that will hit the global markets by 2016.

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Of the company's global markets, US is the biggest, followed by China, Europe and the Middle East.

For this year, Buxton said: "We see double digits growth in sales in India."

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He said the new Flying Spur, powered by a 6 litre petrol engine, is much more faster and powerful than its predecessor.

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"I think the launch of the new Flying Spur will truly delight our loyal and discerning audience," Buxton added.

He admitted that the current economic slowdown in India has had an impact on buying sentiment but said in the long term the company is optimistic about doing well in India.