The Crewe-based automaker points out that the SUV market is expanding at three times the rate of the new car market. Additionally, Dürheimer explained that the company’s motivation for adding a second crossover to its lineup comes from the interest that consumers have shown for its first off-roader. The yet-unnamed model hasn’t been officially presented yet but Bentley has already received 4,000 serious “expressions of interest” from buyers all around the globe, a number that exceeds the 3,000 units that the company was hoping to sell each year.
Executives believe that adding a second off-roader would help Bentley reach its ambitious goal of selling 20,000 cars annually by the year 2020.
“[A smaller SUV] is definitely one of the ideas we have, but our store of ideas gets bigger and bigger,” affirmed Dürheimer in an interview with British magazine Autocar.
Bentley’s first off-roader will likely be presented at a major auto show this year. If given the green light for production, its smaller sibling isn’t expected to land until 2019 at the very earliest.
