Bentley 2013 sales hit record as US demand offsets China

The logo on the back of a Bentley Motors vehicle is seen at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, California November 20, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON - Bentley Motors said sales of its ultra-luxury saloons, coupes and convertibles set a record last year as demand from the Americas outweighed shrinking deliveries in China.

Bentley, owned by Germany's Volkswagen, sold 10,120 cars in 2013, 19 percent more than the previous year and the fourth-straight year of double-digit volume growth, the Britain-based carmaker said on Wednesday.

"We continue to be very successful in winning new customers and are confident that 2014 will be another successful year," Chief Executive Wolfgang Schreiber said in a statement.

Sales in the Americas, Bentley's No 1 market, surged 28 percent to 3,140 cars while Chinese deliveries fell 2.8 percent to 2,191. European sales were up 11 percent at 1,480.

A new generation of the Flying Spur saloon, rolled out last year, and a convertible version of the Continental GT Speed coupe, introduced in late 2012, helped boost sales, Bentley said.