Bentley set a new record by delivering 11,023 cars in 2016 helped by strong interest in its first sports utility vehicle (SUV), the luxury carmaker has revealed.

The performance, which represents a 9 per cent growth on the 2015 total, marks the company's fourth consecutive year above the 10,000-car mark. The business said that strong customer demand for its new Bentley Bentayga SUV (pictured), which reached all global markets during 2016, played a key role in this success.

The number one customer sales region throughout 2016 was the Americas, which closed the year with 2,792 cars delivered, down by 3 per cent. The introduction of Bentayga to the Americas region in the second half of 2016 saw a record-high performance for a six-month period.

In Europe, sales were up by 56 per cent with 2,676 cars delivered. And the UK continued to perform strongly, establishing itself as the third highest selling region, up by 16 per cent to 1,692 car deliveries.

Bentley chairman and chief executive Wolfgang Dürheimer said: "The strong performance of recent years has continued through 2016, a year of new models, investment and record demand. We have introduced the world's first luxury SUV, the Bentayga, opened the first building of our R&D expansion and outlined our ambitions for potential future investment at our factory in Crewe, UK.

"Looking ahead, our focus is to continue to invest in new sector-defining luxury cars, innovative technologies and play a leading role in defining the future of luxury mobility.

Bentley, which is owned by Volkswagen Group, employs approximately 4,000 staff at its Crewe headquarters.

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