FRANKFURT — Bentley, the luxurious automotivemaker owned by Volkswagen, has booked 5 Antonov automotivego jets to assist overcome potential provide bottlenecks within the occasion of a disorderly exit of Britain from the European Union, the automotivemaker mentioned on Wednesday.
Automobile producers are securing extra provide routes as policymakers in Brussels and Westminster search to strike a deal to find out the longer term buying and selling relationship with continental Europe after Britain exits the European Union.
Bentley, which makes excessive finish sports activities automotives, buys 90% of its parts from continental Europe, and sells round 24% of its automotives into Europe, Chief Govt Adrian Hallmark instructed the Monetary Occasions’ Way forward for the Automobile summit.
“We now have spent two years planning. We now have 5 Antonovs that now we have on reserve to fly our bodies to Manchester,” Hallmark mentioned, including that along with shifting automotive our bodies by air, Bentley has hiked the extent of spare elements saved for manufacturing.
“We used to run just-in-time with two days inventory. Now now we have 14 days inventory. That is 14 working days, in order that’s three weeks of inventory,” he mentioned.
The corporate has booked extra warehouses and deliberate new logistics routes in case conventional provide strategies are hampered by bottlenecks.
If Britain fails to safe a negotiated commerce settlement with European policymakers, Bentley would be capable to soak up 10% import tariffs by elevating costs and reducing prices. This might be much less damaging than provide disruptions.
“It isn’t existential so long as every thing flows. Stopping flows is much extra harmful than Brexit tariffs,” Hallmark mentioned, referring to provide bottlenecks.
This 12 months Bentley expects to promote greater than 10,000 luxurious automotives and to succeed in breakeven, primarily because of a rebound in demand in China, Hallmark mentioned.
China gross sales are up 35% compared with earlier than the COVID-19 disaster. Gross sales in Europe and the US up 15% Hallmark mentioned.
“General we’re able the place we are going to do effectively over 10,000 gross sales this 12 months,” he mentioned through Webcast. “We’re on the cusp of going past breakeven.”
