Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months, you know the Volkswagen Group would be mixing things up under their huge umbrella. Rumor has it that Rimac will buy Bugatti while the fate of the Lamborghini and Ducati brands could be decided next month. The words “technological partnerships” and “restructuring” appeared in a Reuters report, and now we’re hearing that there could be another major change at VAG.
According to Automobilwoche, a sister publication of Automotive News Europe, Audi will take control of the Bentley brand as early as next year. Sources familiar with the matter say the Ingolstadt-based brand will be tasked with overseeing Crewe’s tech and financial activities from 2021. Audi’s role within the VW Group has already been increased considering that the Four Rings now lead R&D for the automotive conglomerate. efforts.
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After a recovery plan and record sales, the British luxury brand returned to revenue in 2019 with a profit of 65 million euros. However, this year is not looking good due to the impact of the coronavirus on the auto industry. Brexit is also a concern as Bentley CEO Adrian Hallmark has warned that a no-deal Brexit could cut profits by a quarter.
The report of Automobilwoche goes on to say that the next-gen Continental GT and its sister sedan Flying Spur could run on the Premium Electric Platform (PPE) currently being co-developed by Audi and Porsche. Interestingly, future Bentley models would have “less bling” in an effort to promote “sustainable luxury” while ensuring that they are visually sufficiently different from the mechanically linked Audis.
