Editing Bentley (section)

===Volkswagen (1998–present)===
[[File:2003 Bentley Arnage T in Jupiter, FL (front right).jpg|thumb|right|1998 Bentley Arnage T]]
[[File:2002 Bentley State Limousine.jpg|right|thumb|Queen [[Elizabeth II]]'s [[Bentley State Limousine]]]]
In October 1997, Vickers announced that it had decided to sell Rolls-Royce Motors. [[BMW|BMW AG]] seemed to be a logical purchaser because BMW already supplied engines and other components for Bentley and Rolls-Royce branded cars and because of BMW and Vickers joint efforts in building aircraft engines. BMW made a final offer of £340m, but was outbid by [[Volkswagen Group|Volkswagen AG]], which offered £430m. Volkswagen AG acquired the vehicle designs, model nameplates, production and administrative facilities, the Spirit of Ecstasy and Rolls-Royce grille shape trademarks, but not the rights to the use of the Rolls-Royce name or logo, which are owned by Rolls-Royce Holdings plc. In 1998, BMW started supplying components for the new range of Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars—notably [[V8 engine]]s for the [[Bentley Arnage]] and [[V12 engine]]s for the [[Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph]], however, the supply contract allowed BMW to terminate its supply deal with Rolls-Royce with 12 months' notice, which would not be enough time for Volkswagen to re-engineer the cars.

[[File:bentleyazure.JPG|thumb|right|[[Bentley Azure]] Mulliner 2003 Final Series]]
BMW paid [[Rolls-Royce plc]] £40m to license the Rolls-Royce name and logo. After negotiations, BMW and Volkswagen AG agreed that, from 1998 to 2002, BMW would continue to supply engines and components and would allow Volkswagen temporary use of the Rolls-Royce name and logo. All BMW engine supply ended in 2003 with the end of Silver Seraph production.

From 1 January 2003 forward, Volkswagen AG would be the sole provider of cars with the "Bentley" marque. BMW established a new legal entity, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Limited, and built a new administrative headquarters and production facility for Rolls-Royce branded vehicles in [[Goodwood plant|Goodwood]], West Sussex, England.

====Investment and company development====
[[File:Bentley badge and hood ornament-BW.jpg|thumb|Bentley winged "B" badge bonnet (hood) ornament]]
After acquiring the business, Volkswagen spent [[Pound sterling|£]]500&nbsp;million (about US$845&nbsp;million) to modernise the Crewe factory and increase production capacity.<ref name=BW062410>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-06-23/porsche-development-head-duerheimer-said-to-succeed-paefgen-as-bentley-ceo |title=Volkswagen Said to Shuffle Porsche, Bentley Managers |date=24 June 2010 |first=Andreas |last=Cremer |work=Bloomberg Businessweek |access-date=25 June 2010 }}</ref>
As of early 2010, there are about 3,500 working at Crewe, compared with about 1,500 in 1998 before being taken over by Volkswagen.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.caranddriver.com/going-back-in-time-at-the-bentley-factory/ |title=Going Back in Time at the Bentley Factory |date=10 May 2010 |first=Mark |last=Gillies |publisher=Car and Driver blog |access-date=25 June 2010 |archive-date=9 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809135049/http://blog.caranddriver.com/going-back-in-time-at-the-bentley-factory/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was reported that Volkswagen invested a total of nearly US$2&nbsp;billion in Bentley and its revival.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2004-12-05/vw-steals-a-lead-in-luxury |title=VW Steals A Lead in Luxury |date=6 December 2004 |first=Gail |last=Edmondson |work=Bloomberg Businessweek |access-date=25 June 2010 }}</ref> As a result of upgrading facilities at Crewe the bodywork now arrives fully painted at the Crewe facility for final assembly, with the parts coming from Germany—similarly Rolls-Royce body shells are painted and shipped to the UK for assembly only.

Demand had been so great that the factory at Crewe was unable to meet orders despite an installed capacity of approximately 9,500 vehicles per year; there was a waiting list of over a year for new cars to be delivered. Consequently, part of the production of the new [[Bentley Continental Flying Spur (2005)|Flying Spur]], a four-door version of the Continental GT, was assigned to the [[Transparent Factory]] (Germany), where the [[Volkswagen Phaeton]] luxury car was also assembled. This arrangement ceased at the end of 2006 after around 1,000 cars, with all car production reverting to the Crewe plant.

Bentley presented Queen [[Elizabeth II]] with an official [[Bentley State Limousine|State Limousine]] in 2002 to celebrate her [[Golden Jubilee]]. Production of the two-door convertible [[Bentley Azure]] finished in 2003. It was replaced by a large luxury coupé powered by a [[W12 engine]] built in Crewe and named [[Bentley Continental GT]].

It was confirmed in April 2005 a four-seat convertible [[Bentley Azure|Azure]] derived from the [[Bentley Arnage|Arnage Drophead Coupé]] prototype would begin at Crewe in 2006. By the autumn of 2005, a convertible version of the successful Continental GT, the [[Bentley Continental|Continental GTC]], was also presented in the autumn of 2005. These two models were launched in late 2006.

[[File:Bentley Continental Flying Spur.jpg|thumb|right|2005 Bentley Continental Flying Spur]]
[[File:Bentley Continental GT (II) – Frontansicht (3), 30. August 2011, Düsseldorf.jpg|thumb|right|2011 Bentley Continental GT]]
[[File:Bentley Bentayga Diesel – Frontansicht, 24. Juni 2017, Düsseldorf.jpg|thumb|2017 Bentley Bentayga diesel]]
[[File:Geneva International Motor Show 2018, Le Grand-Saconnex (1X7A0019).jpg|thumb|CEO [[Adrian Hallmark]] presents the Bentayga Hybrid at [[Geneva International Motor Show]] 2018.]]
[[File:Bentley Continental GTC Top Marques 2019 IMG 1078.jpg|thumb|2019 Bentley Continental GTC]]
[[File:2019 Bentley Flying Spur W12 Front.jpg|thumb|2019 Flying Spur W12]]
A limited run of a [[Zagato]] modified GT was also announced in March 2008, dubbed "[[Bentley Continental GT#Continental GTZ (2008)|GTZ]]".

A new version of the Bentley Continental was introduced at the [[Geneva Motor Show#2009|2009 Geneva Motor Show]]: The [[Bentley Continental Supersports|Continental Supersports]]. This new Bentley is a supercar combining extreme power with environmentally friendly FlexFuel technology, capable of using petrol (gasoline) and biofuel (E85 ethanol).

Bentley sales continued to increase, and in 2005 8,627 were sold worldwide, 3,654 in the United States. In 2007, the 10,000 cars-per-year threshold was broken for the first time with sales of 10,014. For 2007, a record profit of [[Euro|€]]155&nbsp;million was also announced.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bentley reports record profit|last=Garlick|url=http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=17750|access-date=18 March 2008}}</ref> Bentley reported a sale of about 7,600 units in 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ajtqDKRS4Rno |title=Daimler Maybach Fails to Dent Rolls, Bentley Super-Luxury Lead |date=15 December 2009 |first1=Chris |last1=Reiter |first2=Mike |last2=Ramsey |publisher=Bloomberg News }}</ref> However, its global sales plunged 50 percent to 4,616 vehicles in 2009 (with the U.S. deliveries dropped 49% to 1,433 vehicles) and it suffered an operating loss of [[Euro|€]]194&nbsp;million, compared with an [[operating profit]] of [[Euro|€]]10&nbsp;million in 2008.<ref name=BW062410/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-01-14/volkswagen-s-bentley-targets-u-s-growth-with-mulsanne-sedan.html |title=Volkswagen's Bentley Targets U.S. Growth With Mulsanne Sedan |date=14 January 2010 |first=Andreas |last=Cremer |work=Bloomberg Businessweek |access-date=25 June 2010 }}{{dead link|date=April 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> As a result of the slump in sales, production at Crewe was shut down during March and April 2009.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} Though vehicle sales increased by 11% to 5,117 in 2010, operating loss grew by 26% to [[Euro|€]]245&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://annualreport2010.volkswagenag.com/divisions/bentley.html |title=Volkswagen AG 2010 Annual Report |publisher=Annualreport2010.volkswagenag.com |access-date=24 March 2012 |archive-date=10 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610021805/http://annualreport2010.volkswagenag.com/divisions/bentley.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In Autumn 2010, workers at Crewe staged a series of protests over proposal of compulsory work on Fridays and mandatory overtime during the week.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.crewechronicle.co.uk/crewe-news/crewe-business-news/2010/11/24/bentley-protests-continue-in-crewe-over-changes-to-working-hours-96135-27702030/ |title=Bentley protests continue in Crewe over changes to working hours |date=24 October 2010 |first=Rhiannon |last=Cooke |newspaper=Crewe Chronicle }}</ref>

Vehicle sales in 2011 rose 37% to 7,003 vehicles, with the new Continental GT accounting for over one-third of total sales. The current workforce is about 4,000 people.

The business earned a profit in 2011 after two years of losses as a result of the following sales results:<ref>{{cite news|last=Rauwald|first=Christopher|title=Bentley Mulls Its Own SV|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=4 January 2012|page=B3}}</ref>

On 23 March 2020, Bentley announced to halt production due to [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{Cite web|last1=L|first1=Bentley Jaguar|last2=Rover|title=Luxury carmakers join coronavirus shutdown|url=https://uk.motor1.com/news/405358/bentley-jaguar-land-rover-join-coronavirus-shutdown/|access-date=11 August 2020|website=Motor1.com|language=en-gb}}</ref> In June 2020, Bentley announced that it will cut around 1,000 (one quarter of 4,200) job places in the UK as a result of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/17d52428-3603-4725-a732-e59dfa35f5aa |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/17d52428-3603-4725-a732-e59dfa35f5aa |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Bentley to cut quarter of workforce as UK car sector job losses hit 5,000|work=[[Financial Times]]|last=Campbell|first=Peter|access-date=5 June 2020}}</ref>

On 3 November 2020, Bentley announced that all new cars sold will be electric by 2030. This announcement also follows after the United Kingdom Prime Minister [[Boris Johnson]] announced in February 2020 that he approved legislation that will ban and phase out non-electric vehicles (including Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid vehicles) from the UK by 2030 with hybrids being banned by 2035.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wayland|first=Michael|date=5 November 2020|title=Famed luxury carmaker Bentley to go fully electric by 2030|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/05/famed-luxury-carmaker-bentley-to-go-fully-electric-by-2030.html|access-date=6 November 2020|publisher=CNBC|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/business/autos/luxury-automaker-bentley-go-all-electric-n1246862|title=Luxury automaker Bentley to go all electric|date=10 November 2020|publisher=NBC News}}</ref>

=====Deliveries, profits and staff=====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:88%"
|-
!Year
!Profit or loss<br />€ million
!Staff
!Total<br />deliveries
!Americas
!China
!Europe<br />exc UK
!UK
!Middle<br />East
!Asia<br />Pacific
!Japan
!Other
|-
| 1998 || || 1500 || 414 || || || || || || || ||
|-
| 1999|| || || 1001 || || || || || || || ||
|-
| 2000|| || || 1469 || || || || || || || ||
|-
| 2001|| || || 1429 || || || || || || || ||
|-
| 2002|| || || 1157 || || 36 || || || || || ||
|-
| 2003|| || || 1017 || || || || || || || ||
|-
| 2004|| || || 7411 || || || || || || || ||
|-
| 2005|| || || 8627 || 3654 || 500 || || || || || || 4473
|-
| 2006|| +137 || || 9387 || 4035 || 175 || 2024 || || || || || 3153
|-
| 2007|| +155 || || 10014 || 4196 || 338 || 2166 || 2079 || || || || 1235
|-
| 2008|| +10 || || 7605 || || || || || || || ||
|-
| 2009|| −194 || 3500 || 4616 || 1433 || 489 || || 897 || || || || 1797
|-
| 2010|| −245 || || 5117 || 1525 || 910 || 776 || 982 || || || || 924
|-
| 2011|| 8 || 4000 || 7003 || 2021 || 1839 || 1187 || 1031 || 566 || 249 || || 110
|-
| 2012|| 100 || || 8510 || 2457 || 2253 || 1333 || 1104 || 815 || 358 || 190||
|-
| 2013|| 176 || || 10120 || 3140 || 2191 || 1480 || 1381 || 1185 || 452 || 291||
|}
Sources <small>Volkswagen AG Annual Reports and press releases<ref name="Volkswagen AG 2012 Annual Report">{{cite web|url=http://annualreport2012.volkswagenag.com/divisions/bentley.html |title=Volkswagen AG 2012 Annual Report |publisher=Annualreport2012.volkswagenag.com |access-date=15 March 2013}}</ref></small>

Bentley recorded a 31% rise in global sales in FY21 despite shutdowns caused by the global coronavirus pandemic.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Carey|first=Nick|date=6 January 2022|title=Bentley cruised to record year in 2021 with luxury cars in high demand|language=en|agency=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/bentley-cruised-record-year-2021-with-luxury-cars-high-demand-2022-01-06/|access-date=6 January 2022}}</ref>

=====Production=====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:88%"
|-
!Year
!Bentayga
!CGT Coupé
!CGT Cabrio
!Flying Spur
!Mulsanne
!Arnage
!Brooklands
!Azure
!Continental
!Other Bentley
!Rolls-Royce
!Total
|-
| 2000|| || || || || || 1243 || || 131 || 93 || 2 || 469 || 1938
|-
| 2001|| || || || || || 1049 || || 205 || 114 || 61 || 352 || 1781
|-
| 2002|| || || || || || 883 || || 69 || 50 || 61 || 147 || 1210
|-
| 2003|| || 107 || || || || 607 || || 62 || 16 || || || 792
|-
| 2004|| || 6896 || || || || 790 || || || || || || 7686
|-
| 2005|| || 4733 || || 4271 || || 556 || || || || || || 9560
|-
| 2006|| || 3611 || 1742 || 4042 || || 464 || || 177 || || || || 10036
|-
| 2007|| || 2140 || 4847 || 2270 || || 357 || 8 || 350 || || || || 9972
|-
| 2008|| || 2699 || 2408 || 1813 || || 277 || 312 || 165 || || || || 7674
|-
| 2009|| || 1211 || 722 || 1358 || || 147 || 106 || 93 || || || || 3637
|-
| 2010|| || 1735 || 843 || 1914 || 354 || || 6 || 2 || || || || 4854
|-
| 2011|| || 3416 || 677 || 2354 || 1146 || || || || || || || 7593
|-
| 2012|| || 3536 || 2638 || 1764 || 1169 || || || || || || || 9107
|-
| 2013|| || 3602 || 2197 || 3960 || 1117 || || || || || || || 10876
|-
| 2014|| || 3442 || 2151 || 4556 || 884 || || || || || || || 11033
|-
| 2015|| 96 || 3997 || 2216 || 3660 || 919 || || || || || || || 10888
|-
| 2016|| 5586 || 2272 || 1600 || 1731 || 628 || || || || || || || 11817
|-
| 2017|| 4849 || 1345 || 1468 || 2295 || 595 || || || || || || || 10552
|-
| 2018|| 4072 || 2841 || 28 || 1627 || 547 || || || || || || || 9115
|-
| 2019|| 5232 || 3903 || 2760 || 102 || 443 || || || || || || || 12440
|-
| 2020|| 3946 || 1905 || 1244 || 3381 || 127 || || || || || || || 10603
|}
Sources <small>[https://annualreport2020.volkswagenag.com/divisions/bentley.html Volkswagen AG Annual Reports]</small>