Bentley Says Profit Hinges on Smooth Brexit
Volkswagen AG’s Bentley luxury brand’s hope for a profitable 2019 will evaporate if the U.K. exits the European Union in March with no trade deal.
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Volkswagen AG’s Bentley luxury brand’s hope for a profitable 2019 will evaporate if the U.K. exits the European Union in March with no trade deal.
Bentley lost €137 million ($156 million) in January-September last year. CEO Adrian Hallmark tells Reuters that the company is on track to post a net profit in 2019. But he warns that an increasingly likely “hard” Brexit represents a “fundamental risk” to that goal.
Hallmark says Bentley is stockpiling imported parts and hiking the proportion of cars it is making for non-EU markets, mainly China and the U.S. Unlike other carmakers in England, Bentley is not planning to suspend production temporarily when the U.K. exits the EU on March 29.
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