Bentley Has A HUGE Problem With Bentayga - They Can't Keep Up With Demand

Everyone knew that would happen....there are plenty of rich people around the world to buy these...

The "gotta be first" mentality.

When do deliveries start?

The Bentayga is quite a nice product, though for $275,000 it should be.

Audi should quickly launch a 4.0TT V8 high-line Q7 (platform-mate of the Bentayga), perhaps even LWB, for $100,000-$125,000. That would sell well too.

I am skeptical though exactly how many of the 10,000 "wait list" people are really buyers versus speculators. At the end of the day, there are not that many people who can/will spend $275,000 on a car.

Indeed. Speculators are all over "unobtanium" like this. Typically, they get a spot in line and then look to sell that position with a price bump.

#tangent

Usually, speculators make money.

I put money down to secure a 2015 Mustang GT fully loaded from another dealer. It was to be 3rd in their manifest. I owned it for just a few days and sold it to a "gotta have it now" person for a significant price bump.

As much as I hate the Alfa Giulia, I have one--and only one--in the queue on speculation.

It's how a gotta have commodity is handled.

Sometimes, speculators lose.

For example, a rumor circulating is that TVR will move from the 5.0 Coyote Aluminator to the Voodoo V8 for 2019. Recall that 2018 production is sold out. I seriously doubt the Coyote Aluminator will be a one-year mill, but rumors are lovely.

That rumor has caused a few speculators to come out of the closet to seek to quietly sell their spots before confirmation of a Voodoo-engined TVR happens.

The Coyote Aluminator is amazing, but the Voodoo would ironically be more TVR-like and that is the beauty of the speculation.

If Voodoo happens, I buy some slots on free fall side of the speculation curve, because I can still make money.

This is the now must have vehicle for the uber rich. 10,000 seems more than reasonable for first year first generation. If numbers are strong in second-third years and Lambo SUV hits the mark I have to think Ferrari will reconsider whether to make an SUV or not.

Let's see what actual deliveries are. $200,000+ is outside of what most people will pay for a car.

The ENTIRE Bentley lineup sold 2,686 cars in the US in calendar 2015. I'd expect MAYBE 3,000 US Bentayga sales max per year in the US and maybe an equivalent number in the rest of world.

There are just not that many people who will pull the trigger on the price and social stigma of a $200,000+ vehicle.

There were 14,982 "Range Rover" (i.e. the expensive one) sales in the US in 2015.

There were 16,474 "Porsche Cayenne" sales in the US in 2015. (source goodcarbadcar.net)

If you assume that 5% of RR and Cayenne sales were in the $150,000+ price range, that's 1,575 units at the price point(750+825), which I would argue is the US market for such a vehicle.

I think Bentayga sales first year are 3,000 (likely conquesting many of the high dollar Cayenne and Range Rover customers) and then it drifts down to 2,000 units per year.

Much like the 10,000 people on the "preorder list" for the Tesla Model X SUV, I wonder how many of the 10,000 Bentayga pre-orders actually drive one home.

Good luck to Bentley.

Clearly, wealth and brains are not mutually synonymous.

They just need to divert flow from the Touareg to the Bentiguan.

There is considerable pent up demand by Bentley owners for an SUV. First year sales are more than likely to be 3 times the normalized annual sales going forward. First year spikes are customary for first generation sports cars and subsequent years taper off. I think same will hold true for the first ever Bentley SUV. Lets revisit one year from now and see.

We all know by now that every since the 1st-gen Touareg was released, any big SUV under the VW umbrella has great on-road performance potential & is very capable off-road as well.

Bentley could have (should have) made that ESP-9-F concept initially. That would've sold just as well. None of this should be surprising considering all the stereotypical reviews & comments predicting that the new SUV being popular with "rappers" & the like. I'm pretty sure that most of the orders for the Bentayga are the typical wealthy business folk who just wanted a Bentley SUV.