Bentley sells like Hong Shao Rou in China

Bentley - the Chinese can't get enough of 'em

In case you’re wondering, Hong Shao Rou is a Chinese dish of cubes of braised pork belly glazed with caramelised sugar and Shaoxing rice wine.

It was Chairman Mao’s favourite dish and so, despite China’s headlong dive back in to post-Mao capitalism, is a dish much loved and much revered in China. A bit like Bentley.

Somehow we doubt that Mao – at least publicly – was a big Bentley fan, but his newly-wealthy countryman don’t seem to be able to get enough of Bentley’s products.

In the first four months of 2011 China snapped up 396 Bentleys. That’s a quarter of world sales and puts China firmly in to second place in the Bentley league table, ahead of the UK for the first time and closing in on Bentley’s biggest market – the USA.

What makes the figure even more surprising is that the sales in China are based on the old model Continental GT and its siblings alone. China hasn’t yet been introduced to the 2011 Continental GT or to the range-topping Bentley Mulsanne.

So important has China become to Bentley that it is hosting its Worldwide Dealer Conference in Beijing this week to introduce its dealers to the hottest patch on Bentley’s beat, a fact illustrated by the 50 orders Bentley took from locals at the recent Shanghai Motor Show.

Bentley expect the sales growth to continue in China and are targeting sales of 1500 cars this year – up from 1,000 in 2010.

At this rate Bentley will be more popular than Hong Shao Rou

By Cars UK