Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News.
Speaker 2: We're going to stay in Monterey and bring in Frank
Speaker 2: Stephen Wallacer Bentley Motors chairman and CEO. He joins us
Speaker 2: from the Quail and Frank, great to have you. Before
Speaker 2: we get to the turmoil the tariffs, the wealth effect,
Speaker 2: I want to talk about that orange Bentaga next to you.
Speaker 2: Is that the new Bentaga Speed and what kind of
Speaker 2: demand do you expect?
Speaker 1: Yes, exactly, that's the Bentaga Speed. So good morning from Monterrey.
Speaker 1: That's our latest version of the of the Bentaga and
Speaker 1: ice only engine six hundred and fifty horses. Showed it
Speaker 1: just a couple of weeks ago in Montana. Very very
Speaker 1: good feedback from media so far. Customers to early. They
Speaker 1: will get in the car beginning of next year, end
Speaker 1: of this year, maybe the first, but we see it's
Speaker 1: a car that that really is asked for by the markets.
Speaker 2: We've seen. I mean, the markets are on fire right
Speaker 2: if you look at equities, if you look at bitcoin,
Speaker 2: the wealth effect must be strong and the pull forward
Speaker 2: effect has been great as well. What kind of demand
Speaker 2: are you seeing from customers.
Speaker 1: Well, it's different in different parts of the world. US
Speaker 1: is kind of stabilizing, I would say it's too early
Speaker 1: to really judge it because it's always long term. You
Speaker 1: have seasonality inside, you have depending for shures on what
Speaker 1: you offering cars BEVNTEGA Speed will definitely give a momentum
Speaker 1: on the sales. What do we expect new Continental coming
Speaker 1: now with the high power not the ultra high power
Speaker 1: version and this is very very well received in the market,
Speaker 1: so we expect why shipping the cars in the third
Speaker 1: quarter also another momentum for our sales figures.
Speaker 2: For the most part, Bentley's, I guess Bentley's can only
Speaker 2: be produced in Crewe, right If you're buying a Bentley,
Speaker 2: you're basically buying piece of that factory. That craftsmanship, those
Speaker 2: artisans is what you're paying the premium for. So there's
Speaker 2: no way you can really move production anywhere else, is there.
Speaker 1: No? And it's also for sure it's not intended because
Speaker 1: part of the excitement is you have a British kind
Speaker 1: the British guy has to come from the UK. It's
Speaker 1: like as we's watch, very very clear. But with the
Speaker 1: agreement between UK and US, I feel we're in a
Speaker 1: very good position. We have approximately seven and a half
Speaker 1: percent higher tariff than it was before, So we don't
Speaker 1: expect that this has a big impact on our business.
Speaker 1: In the business in general, it's more the uncertainty, I
Speaker 1: would say, because also we did not raise any prices
Speaker 1: so far, nothing is adjusted, so we expect just business
Speaker 1: going on.
Speaker 2: So exactly, I mean, the UK has a special deal
Speaker 2: with the US and auto exports a flat ten percent
Speaker 2: tariff to be two and a half. You haven't raised prices,
Speaker 2: you say, have you been able to take some price
Speaker 2: from your suppliers, have you been able to get some
Speaker 2: padding there?
Speaker 1: No, at the moment, it's all too early because we
Speaker 1: have carefully really watched the markets, what's happening there, what's
Speaker 1: happening on the pricing site, supplies and different But no,
Speaker 1: we did not take any action there.
Speaker 2: I'm curious, Frank, if customers are waiting for new generations
Speaker 2: of cars that come from you. You have, you know,
Speaker 2: personally a great history out of Germany, out of Stuttgart,
Speaker 2: and there's pretty high expectations for what you can do
Speaker 2: with this brand. A lot of the vehicles you're selling
Speaker 2: are fantastic cars obviously, really works of art and engineering masterpieces.
Speaker 2: But do you see anybody waiting for the first wallacer
Speaker 2: cars to come out of Bentley.
Speaker 1: If you want to call it like that. Yes, people
Speaker 1: are already asking and waiting for it, and I have
Speaker 1: to ask for a little bit of more patients. But
Speaker 1: it's on the way. The first car will come, and
Speaker 1: we're already talking with customers, not with media, but with customers.
Speaker 1: We are talking about some ideas we haven't projects we
Speaker 1: have started, and there's a lot of excitement. I can
Speaker 1: tell you, very very positive feedback.
Speaker 2: I know you're there with my good friend Hannah Elliott.
Speaker 2: She's my co host on our podcast Bloomberg Hot Pursuit,
Speaker 2: and she and I recently went to Lamar. It was exciting,
Speaker 2: and a lot more manufacturers are getting involved, not just
Speaker 2: in world endurance car racing, but in motorsport in general.
Speaker 2: It's become really important, I think, to the car buying public,
Speaker 2: especially at the level where you're playing. Does Bentley have
Speaker 2: any aspirations to get involved, to get back into you know,
Speaker 2: especially the Lamal series. Is I think of Bentley when
Speaker 2: I think of that series.
Speaker 1: Well, Bentley has in general very wide and very long history,
Speaker 1: especially with Lemont more than hundred years involved their many
Speaker 1: many famous victories back in the twenties, but then also
Speaker 1: the famous victory in two thousand and three when the
Speaker 1: brand was kind of relaunched and got more established by
Speaker 1: itself split with the siblings. So there's a rich heritage,
Speaker 1: and for sure motorsport always played an important role in it.
Speaker 1: Un As you say, more and more com manufacturers are
Speaker 1: entering and motorsport is a very important part also of
Speaker 1: the brand image of a company, and that fits for
Speaker 1: sure also to Bentley. On the other hand, we have
Speaker 1: to make business decisions we have. It's all about also
Speaker 1: timing to get the right timing to enter motorsport, because
Speaker 1: it's also clear if you have fifteen brands going to Lemon,
Speaker 1: you're number sixteen. You share everything with fifteen others. So
Speaker 1: when it's the right timing, when it's the right technology,
Speaker 1: and also you need serious money to raise in Lemont,
Speaker 1: and this equation has to be solved. And then we'll see.
Speaker 1: We have no plans for the moment, but it's not
Speaker 1: that we say no, we would never talk on something
Speaker 1: like that.
Speaker 2: All right, well, we look forward to it, Frank, and
Speaker 2: I hope you have a fantastic weekend at Monterey Carr
Speaker 2: week at the Quail Now and Pebble Beach Leader, Frank
Speaker 2: Stephen Wallacer, Bentley Motors Chairman and CEO