Bentley Aims to Double Vehicle Sales

Volkswagen AG's Bentley Motors unit is targeting annual global sales of 15,000 vehicles by 2015 compared with 7,000 units in 2011, Bentley finance chief Jan-Henrik Lafrentz tells journalists.

The marque expects to sell 8,000 vehicles this year. Bentley sold nearly 10,000 vehicles worldwide in 2007, but volume plunged in successive years during the global recession.

The ultra-luxury brand aims to avoid sharp year-on-year fluctuation by altering its product cycle. That will mean launching a fresh model before another key model goes into its final year of production, according to Lafrentz.

He adds that the British marque also intends to broaden its lineup. Bentley aims to sell 3,000 units annually of a new €180,000 SUV it hopes to launch in 2015. Lafrentz says VW's board has yet to approve the SUV, but he is confident it will get the go-ahead.

Bentley also aims to double its profit margin from the first half of this year to 15% by 2018 by sharing more than half its components with other VW brands in coming years.