Luxury car sales surge amid supply-chain problems, rocketing inflation

By Around the Web

A Lexus LC 500 on display at a Lexus dealership in West Palm Beach, Florida, May 20, 2021. (Photo by Joe Kovacs)
A Lexus LC 500 on display at a Lexus dealership in West Palm Beach, Florida, May 20, 2021. (Photo by Joe Kovacs)

By Harry Wilmerding
Daily Caller News Foundation

Luxury car sales surged in 2021 while mainstream car companies struggled amid global supply chain disruptions and soaring inflation, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Luxury car brands, including Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Porsche and BMW, all reported record sales in 2021, the WSJ reported. Reduced international travel reportedly encouraged high-end car users to boost their vehicle purchases.

Meanwhile, the auto industry was crushed by supply-chain bottlenecks and worsening chip shortages causing companies to curb production, the WSJ reported.

“We are hardly affected by the chip shortage,” Alain Favey, sales chief at Bentley Motors Ltd., which is owned by Volkswagen, told the WSJ.

“The process in the VW group is very centralized. One of the elements to decide on allocation is the margin of profitability,” Favey said. “From that perspective we are prioritized, so we managed to get all of the chips we needed.”

Bentley sold a record 14,659 cars in 2021, a 31% increase from 2020, the WSJ reported. Porsche, also owned by Volkswagen, sold 301,915 vehicles globally, an 11% increase from the prior year.

BMW, the top-selling luxury car brand, sold 336,644 cars globally in 2021, a 21% increase from 2020, the WSJ reported. Lexus, owned by Toyota, came in second, selling 304,476 vehicles in 2021, an 11% increase from 2020.

(Photo by Joe Kovacs)
(Photo by Joe Kovacs)

Electric car giant Tesla recorded an 87% increase in global deliveries, selling approximately 299,000 cars in the U.S. in 2021, according to the WSJ. Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce, whose cars reportedly sell for over $300,000, sold a record 5,586 vehicles in 2021, marking a 49% year-over-year increase.

This story originally was published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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