Bentley May Have To Stop Being British Because Of Brexit CarBuzz News Features New Cars Used Cars Sell My Car Shopping Tools Car Reviews Car Finder Compare Cars Best Cars Car Dealerships Used Car Reviews Car Advice Home News Bentley May Have To Stop Being British Because Of Brexit

Bentley May Have To Stop Being British Because Of Brexit

Mar. 12, 2017 5:50 PM ET by Jared Rosenholtz / 17 Comments Hey, it's already owned by the Germans. We knew that Britain's decision to leave the EU, aka Brexit, would have a profound effect on the auto industry. For example, Bentley has already been impacted by delaying its awesome GT car, the EXP10 Speed 6. Part of the hold up is based on Bentley's hesitance to keep building cars in the UK, where large tariffs could be implemented if legislators can't strike a deal to stay in a single market. Reuters reports that Bentley may be preparing for a future where its models won't be built in the UK. If so, would Bentley even be British anymore? "It's the Britishness that makes us very unique but we know from different car brands that this business is a very international one and before we would not produce any Bentleys anymore, we would produce them somewhere else," Bentley CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer stated last week at Geneva. Dürheimer has laid out the worst case scenario in which the UK could not reach a deal with the EU. "I have about nine to 12 months where I can wait and see what's going to happen and then I need to take serious decisions. It's all connected to future models," Dürheimer added. If a deal isn't worked out, Bentley would likely shift its production to mainland Europe in order to avoid possible tariffs. Other car companies are also contemplating what Brexit will mean for UK auto production. Interestingly, Brexit could end up helping the French PSA group, which recently purchased Opel and Vauxhall from GM. Peugeot could make its cars in the Vauxhall plant to avoid UK tariffs and utilize Opel's European plants to supply cars for the rest of the European market. If the UK doesn't reach a deal with Europe, we could see a bunch of automakers flee to continental Europe. Bentley is already owned by the Volkswagen Group, so if the cars aren't built in Britain anymore, wouldn't that just make them German?

Join The Discussion

Show Comments (17)

Gallery

1 Photos Tags: #Bentley News #Government #Luxury #Smart Buy Jared Rosenholtz Editor-at-Large After graduating with an MBA, Jared pursued his love of cars by becoming an automotive journalist. An internship with CarBuzz grew into his current position as Editor At Large. Jared now spends most of his time evaluating new vehicles and chasing the latest news stories in the automotive industry. When he’s not attending Cars & Coffee events on the weekend, Jared loves to watch NFL football and cruise around with the top down in his German convertible. Contact Jared @Carsnbites @jar_rosenholtz LoginSign Up Home News Features Car Reviews Car Advice 2021 CarBuzz Awards New Cars Used Cars Future Cars Compare Cars Sell My Car Car Dealerships Buy Here Pay Here Used Car Reviews Popular Tags Cars # Video # TOP # Spy Shots # Reveal # Rumor # Auto Show # Supercar # Tuning # Car Culture # Industry News # Motorsport Acura Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Bollinger Bugatti Buick Cadillac Caterham Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Fisker Ford Genesis GMC Hennessey Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Karma Kia Koenigsegg Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lordstown Lotus Lucid Motors Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Pagani Polestar Porsche Ram Rimac Rivian Rolls-Royce Spyker Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo By Make Acura Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Bollinger Bugatti Buick Cadillac Caterham Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Fisker Ford Genesis GMC Hennessey Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Karma Kia Koenigsegg Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lordstown Lotus Lucid Motors Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Pagani Polestar Porsche Ram Rimac Rivian Rolls-Royce Spyker Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo By Car Type SUVs Crossovers Sedans Coupes Trucks Sports Cars Wagons Vans Hatchbacks Convertibles Small Cars Luxury Cars Electric Cars Hybrid Cars Future Cars By Price Up to $15K $15K - $25K $25K - $35K $35K - $45K $45K - $55K $55K - $75K $75K - $100K $100K - $200K $200K - $300K Above $300K Back To Top