Has Bentley Officially Surpassed Rolls-Royce?

Miami Herald

4 days ago

Rolls-Royce and Bentley are tied to each other forever. As recently as the late 90s, the two automakers made vehicles that were virtually indistinguishable from one another. Each had its trademarks, badging, and in Rolls-Royce's case, the Spirit of Ecstasy and grille design. Fast-forwarding three decades, we find two brands with distinct personalities and heritage. Looking closer, we see two brands that have set out to accomplish similar things - and achieved on very different levels.
But first, a quick history lesson. Bentley Motors began life in January 1919 as World War I ended, debuting its first car later that year. The company delivered its first car in the following year and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1927. Then, the brand repeated its wins in the three years following. Rolls-Royce bought the brand when it went into receivership on the heels of the Great Depression. The newly acquired now-subsidiary's first car was a Bentley 3.5-liter that appeared in 1933, powered by a Rolls-Royce engine. The latter part would prove to be a trend as all Bentley models produced after the merger until 2004 relied on Rolls-Royce engines and chassis.
After changing hands in the 1970s, Rolls-Royce (including Bentley) went up for sale in the late 1990s. BMW and Volkswagen were poised to become the inheritors of the luxury crown. BMW was already providing powertrains for Rolls, and took further steps to purchase the name and logo for Rolls-Royce. For a sizable $703 million, Volkswagen purchased the designs, nameplates, and the facilities themselves. But, without the rights to the name and badging, a compromise needed to be met. Thus, VW took Bentley, and BMW got Rolls-Royce. Effective January 2003, the two brands were finally separate entities. After twenty-two years apart, how have they fared?
Let's start with Rolls-Royce. The original nameplate has carried itself well into the 21st century, and 2024 saw the brand deliver 5,712 cars, its third-best recorded. Here, Bentley compares favorably. The Crewe-based automaker delivered nearly double the number of cars as Rolls, with 10,600 cars finding new homes. However, volume is only part of where these brands generate their revenue. Both place a heavy emphasis on customizability; Rolls-Royce has Bespoke, while Bentley offers Mulliner. Last year, Bentley saw revenue per car rise 10%, and a lot of that comes from the fact that 70% of the cars delivered had at least one Mulliner inclusion. Rolls-Royce says, similarly, that it saw a 10% increase in Bespoke content overall, enough to set a record for the brand.
Bentley trounces Goodwood in volume, and profit is a similar story. Bentley reported a profit of $439 million. Meanwhile, BMW reported that Rolls-Royce generated around $140 million in profit, demonstrating that the brand is also very likely making less, percentage-wise, per car than the boys in Crewe. The story remains consistent no matter which arena you pick. Rolls-Royce, overall, accounts for roughly 1% of parent company BMW's profit. Bentley? Last year, despite a downturn in profits, the brand accounted for around 2% of Volkswagen's profit.
We've established that Bentley is making more money than Rolls-Royce, but what does the future hold? Bentley certainly isn't resting on its laurels, just recently announcing three new stores for North America in desirable locations - Santa Barbara, California, San Antonio, Texas, and Oakville, Canada, a Toronto suburb. An exec was recently quoted as saying there's "no real limitation" on what the automaker can or would build you, even offering a pickup truck. Finally, Bentley also laid the ground for a new BEV assembly line back in March 2025. Then, in July, Bentley opened up a brand-new design studio converted from one of its oldest and most heritage-filled buildings. BMW isn't putting Rolls-Royce out to pasture yet, though. Last year, the brand added two new Private Office locations and an invite-only network for Rolls-Royce customers to configure their vehicles. Furthermore, the brand committed around $400 million to expanding manufacturing at the Goodwood facility.
The numbers don't lie. It's a fairly accurate statement to say that Bentley has surpassed Rolls-Royce, at least for the time being. However, even after a century, both brands are still growing. Notably, the big B doesn't have a single all-electric model. Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce has cleaned up with the Spectre, simultaneously attracting a whole new kind of buyer and moving units. It's too early to tell which of these historic luxury brands is going to come out on top, but Bentley has certainly taken the lead, and is obviously working and spending hard to maintain it.
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