The Volkswagen Group’s full sales results for 2024 are out, showing deliveries dropped by 2.3 percent to 9.03 million vehicles. However, what caught our attention was an interesting shift in positions for what the German automotive giant calls its “Brand Group Progressive.” This group consists of Audi, Lamborghini, and Bentley. We already knew Audi had a terrible year, while Lamborghini posted record sales. Bentley numbers are now in, and they’re bad.
The Crewe-based marque fell a whopping 21.5 percent in 2024, delivering just 10,600 cars. During the last 12 months, Lamborghini shipped 100 more vehicles than its internal competitor. While that might not sound like a big deal at first, Bentley has always been way ahead of Lamborghini in the VW Group era. Not anymore.
Photo by: Jeff Perez / Motor1
In 2016, the last year before the Urus joined Lamborghini’s lineup, Sant’Agata Bolognese sold only 3,465 cars. Bentley posted roughly triple sales that year. Ok, you could argue that’s not a fair comparison since the Bentayga did the heavy lifting. But even before the British SUV arrived, Bentley had far greater sales than Lamborghini, which is generally considered the more exotic of the two brands. In 2014, the last year before the Bentayga, Bentley sold about 11,000 cars, four times more than Lamborghini.
As to what might have caused Bentley’s drop in 2024, killing the venerable W-12 engine certainly didn’t help. The pure V-8 engine also faces extinction since it remains available only in the Bentayga. Lest we forget that the new Continental GT came out last year, and a model’s generation change typically slows things down.
Both companies plan to expand their lineups with electric vehicles. However, VW Group’s high-end brands have pushed back their EV launches. Lamborghini’s Lanzador, a two-door, four-seat GT with a higher ground clearance, will be released in 2029 instead of 2028. Bentley’s “Urban SUV,” smaller than the gas-fueled Bentayga, was supposed to hit the market this year, but it’s been delayed until 2026.