Figures released by Naamsa have made for sobering reading of late, with a marked decline in year on year new vehicle sales from 2015 to 2014. But this downward local trend doesn’t seem to have troubled worldwide sales for luxury brands such as Bentley, Porsche and Volvo.
Bentley
2015 marked the third consecutive year that Bentley Motors exceeded the 10 000-unit delivery mark, largely aided by record sales in South Korea, Japan and the Middle East. Bentley also increased its global presence to 58 markets with North America accounting for 28 per cent of the firm’s total deliveries in 2015.
Commenting on a successful 2015, Bentley’s chairman and CEO, Wolfgang Dürheimer, said:
“The positive Bentley Motors performance last year was supported by increases across key sales regions and was driven by our continued commitment to invest – in our products, in our people and in our network.”
The British firm is expecting further sales success in 2016 on the back of its recently launched Bentayga SUV.
Porsche
German automaker Porsche delivered a record 225 121 new cars worldwide last year, bettering the firm’s previous record-best of 189 849 units in 2014 by a massive 19 per cent.
Once a specialist sportscar maker, Porsche now relies on its SUV models to bolster global sales. The Macan and Cayenne both recorded double-digit sales increases in the 2014-2015 period and accounted for more than three quarters of total sales.
The bulk of Porsche sales took place in China where 58 009 vehicles were sold in 2015, an increase of 24 per cent. The USA was a close second with 51 756 vehicles representing a ten per cent increase.
“The figures reflect the pulling power of our brand as well as the appeal of our products which we have launched on the market in the past few years,” says Dr Oliver Blume, chairman of the executive board of Porsche AG. “Focusing completely on the development, production and sales of highly emotional sports cars is paying off.
“Despite this, sales are only a secondary yardstick for success for Porsche. What is much more important for us are customer enthusiasm, return on sales and secure jobs,” says Blume.
Volvo
Swedish premium carmaker Volvo broke through a significant barrier in 2015 by selling 503 127 units worldwide, marking the first time that the company has sold more than half a million cars in its 89-year history.
Sales in Europe rose 10,6 per cent for the year to 269 249 units, representing more than half of total global volume, while US sales were up 24,3 per cent in 2015, aided in no small part by the introduction of the new XC90 SUV late last year.
Volvo aims to maintain this momentum with the introduction of an all-new model, the new S90 premium sedan, which was revealed to the public the Detroit auto show and goes on sale in South Africa towards the end of this year.
