Where Are Bentley Cars Made? Who Owns Them?

Bentley is now known as one of the most renowned luxury automotive brands worldwide. The company manufactures exquisite and astonishing SUVs and luxury cars.

If you are a luxury car enthusiast, then you might have thought, where are Bentley Cars Made?

Another question commonly asked regarding the brand is How Bentley Cars are made? If you are one of those car enthusiasts, you have come to the right spot. Let’s start!

Where are Bentley cars made?

Bentley cars are only manufactured in Germany, England, and Slovakia. Most of the manufacturing, however, is done in England.

The company manufactures most of its models in Crewe’s factory, England, with the help of more than 3500 employees. In 2013, Bentley, under its parent company, Volkswagen, announced its production in the Dresden factory in Germany.

From then onwards, some models under the Bentley umbrella are manufactured in Dresden too. The Volkswagen Zwickau-Mosel Plant in Germany and the Bratislava plant in Slovakia manufacture bodies for some of Bentley’s newer versions.

History of Bentley:

In 1919, an engineer Walter Owens Bentley founded Brentley Motors limited in Cricklewood, North London. W. O Bentley, who himself was a car racer, his passion led him to open this car company.

The first Bentley cars became famous instantly with their newly designed four-valves-per-cylinder engine, which was more efficient than two-valve cylinders. Its primary model was a 3-liter, with initial production from 1921 to 1929.

Who owns Bentley?

Fast forward, Rolls-Royce acquired Bentley Motors in 1931. It went through many ups and downs. Rolls-Royce started to use all-steel bodies for Bentley Cars, and in 1946 they manufactured the first-ever steel-bodied car model Bentley Mark VI in Crew.

The company introduced R-type Continental, followed by luxury models Bentley S1, S2, S3, and T series. Bentley also introduced the two-door car Corniche and Camargue in 1971.

In 1980, Rolls-Royce Motors became a subsidiary company of Vickers. Bentley cars were on the verge of collapse, but Vickers came to its rescue.

A new model Bentley Mulsanne was introduced, and it was a success. Later, the firm introduced its variants like Mulsanne L, Mulsanne Turbo, and Mulsanne S, which also were quite successful.

In 1997, Vickers decided to auction Rolls-Royce Motors, and in the end, Volkswagen acquired it with £430m in1998.

Bentley is still owned by Volkswagen today. Volkswagen works in association with Bentley to manufacture its flagship cars.

Interesting right? Let’s dig deep about where is Bentley Made.

Related: Is Jaguar British?

Who Makes Bentley? 3 Manufacturing Facilities

As I already told you, Bentley Cars are made in three countries. Let’s quickly overview Bentley’s manufacturing facilities in these countries.

1. England:

Manufacturing Facilities in Crewe:

Crewe is considered the kindergarten of Bentley. Today, Bentley manufactures and assembles most of its cars here in Crewe, England. The brand has an amazing history here as it went through many ups and downs.

Rolls-Royce shifted its car manufacturing to Crewe from Derby, in 1943, due to the ongoing World War II.

Crewe was the most pertinent and ideal place for a shadow factory at that time, with its vast open farmlands.

Considering the ideal conditions, Bentley started manufacturing in Crewe. The brand manufactured the first-ever steel body cars in Crewe in 1946.

The firm later replaced it with R-type continental, S series, and T series. The Bentley T series was the first four-wheel disc brakes car.

The success of the above models led the firm to manufacture more car models here. Bentley’s current products under the Volkswagen subsidiary are the Flying Spur, Continental GT, Bentayga, and Mulsanne.

Since the 2000s, Crewe has increased its yearly output by 700%. Today, more than 36,000 employers are working in this facility to improve every day continuously.

The manual workforce assembles most car parts rather than using robots in this plant. The owners believe that robots can do the same job, but they can’t achieve the finish and elegance Bentley buyers expect from them.

So, the proficient workforce does all the work, from shaping metal and leather to assembling. All these things make Bentley and the Crewe facility unique in their way.

2. Germany:

Bentley’s Production Plants in Dresden, Germany:

Dresden, a city in Germany, stands as the second home for some of the models of Bentley like the Flying Spur.

With the funding of US$2 billion by Volkswagen in 1998, the company upgraded the Crewe facility with the production of annually 95,000 vehicles per year, considering the increase in demand.

Still, the company lacked to meet the increased demand. In 2005, the company decided to move the production of Bentley Flying Spur cars to Transparent Factory, Dresden.

In 2006, the company reversed its decision, and this facility stopped manufacturing cars after producing only 1000 cars.

Recently, in 2013 Bentley again decided to manufacture a finite number of Flying Spur in Dresden to meet the demands of Bentley cars in the region.

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Manufacturing in Zwickau:

Zwickau, a city in Germany, can also be counted as a little helper in manufacturing Bentley cars. Want to know how!! Let me tell you.

Due to the increase in demand for Bentley cars, Volkswagen decided to deviate the manufacturing bodies of some models from the Crewe facility to the Volkswagen Zwickau-Mosel plant.

However, the final assembly was still to be done in the Crewe facility. Since 2001, around 50,000 bodies have been put together here.

Also, in 2017, this facility achieved a milestone by starting the production of bodies for the Bentley Bentayga. It is still producing bodies for Bentley Bentayga.

3. Slovakia

Manufacturing of Bentley Cars in Bratislava:

Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, is also crowned for the production of bodies for Bentayga cars.

In 2007, Volkswagen Group spent more than 500 million euros on upgrading the Volkswagen Bratislava plant to handle the production of Bentley cars.

This plant also has a secondary role in the production as the car’s final assembling is done in the Crewe facility.

The raw bodies are sent to England for the final assembly. Apart from Bentley, the parent Volkswagen company produces its cars and some Audi cars here at this plant.

Final Thoughts:

The company indeed produces state-of-the-art cars known worldwide for their luxury and comfort. The company is working to produce environment-friendly cars.

In this regard, the company has decided to produce electric cars and has the vision to produce all electrically powered cars by 2030.

I hope you have got the answer to where are Bentley cars manufactured? Interestingly, the brand takes pride in its operations and does not manufacture its vehicles in an inexpensive country.

Thus, although Betley Cars are expensive, the manual artisanship and innovative features make it a dream car for many people. That is all from our side. See you next time.