Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark came out with a statement about the discontinuation of the Mulsanne sedan line. Apparently, the demand dropped beyond the profitability point.
Hallmark emphasized that the sedan/saloon body style has been the staple of the Bentley automobile marque throughout its entire more-than-a-century-long history. Furthermore, the Mulsanne enjoyed even better sales than its archrival, the Rolls-Royce Phantom. Lately, however, the company found that it had been selling 1,200 units of its Arnage saloon per year and only around 500 units of the Mulsanne. The number of rich people in the world increased thrice over the past 20 years, but the majority of them now prefers luxury SUVs.
He added that another generation of the Mulsanne is out of the question now, as it simply won’t pay off, whether now or ever. As such, the Flying Spur remains the only Bentley saloon on the market right now.
The departure of the Mulsanne also put an end to the lifecycle of the legendary Bentley V8 engine designed as long ago as the 1950s. The more recent cars take advantage of more up-to-date and fuel-efficient engines co-designed with Volkswagen Group, namely the 4.0 V8 and the 6.0 W12.
Concluding his speech, Adrian Hallmark pointed out that, even though the Flying Spur cannot be considered a full-fledged successor to the Mulsanne line, it is still Bentley’s single most technically perfect sedan in history.