The Pandemic Is Creating a ‘Postwar Boom’ for Luxury Carmakers

Famously reticent to disclose how many cars they sell or at what amount of profit, luxury automakers are finding it difficult lately to avoid crowing—just a little bit—about how well they did in 2020.

“Let’s just say we began 2020 with the strongest order bank since 2003—and we started this January with 50% more orders than last January,” Bentley’s Adrian Hallmark said on a videoconference call with journalists on March 23. The British company delivered 11,206 vehicles in 2020, up 1.8% year-over-year—and the highest output in its 101-year history.