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We're going to stay in Monterey and bring in Frank Stephen Wallacer Bentley Motors chairman and CEO. He joins us from the Quail and Frank, great to have you. Before we get to the turmoil the tariffs, the wealth effect, I want to talk about that orange Bentaga next to you. Is that the new Bentaga Speed and what kind of demand do you expect?
Yes, exactly, that's the Bentaga Speed. So good morning from Monterrey. That's our latest version of the of the Bentaga and ice only engine six hundred and fifty horses. Showed it just a couple of weeks ago in Montana. Very very good feedback from media so far. Customers to early. They will get in the car beginning of next year, end of this year, maybe the first, but we see it's a car that that really is asked for by the markets.
We've seen. I mean, the markets are on fire right if you look at equities, if you look at bitcoin, the wealth effect must be strong and the pull forward effect has been great as well. What kind of demand are you seeing from customers.
Well, it's different in different parts of the world. US is kind of stabilizing, I would say it's too early to really judge it because it's always long term. You have seasonality inside, you have depending for shures on what you offering cars BEVNTEGA Speed will definitely give a momentum
on the sales. What do we expect new Continental coming now with the high power not the ultra high power version and this is very very well received in the market, so we expect why shipping the cars in the third quarter also another momentum for our sales figures.
For the most part, Bentley's, I guess Bentley's can only be produced in Crewe, right If you're buying a Bentley, you're basically buying piece of that factory. That craftsmanship, those artisans is what you're paying the premium for. So there's no way you can really move production anywhere else, is there.
No? And it's also for sure it's not intended because part of the excitement is you have a British kind the British guy has to come from the UK. It's like as we's watch, very very clear. But with the agreement between UK and US, I feel we're in a very good position. We have approximately seven and a half percent higher tariff than it was before, So we don't expect that this has a big impact on our business.
In the business in general, it's more the uncertainty, I would say, because also we did not raise any prices so far, nothing is adjusted, so we expect just business going on.
So exactly, I mean, the UK has a special deal with the US and auto exports a flat ten percent tariff to be two and a half. You haven't raised prices, you say, have you been able to take some price from your suppliers, have you been able to get some padding there?
No, at the moment, it's all too early because we have carefully really watched the markets, what's happening there, what's happening on the pricing site, supplies and different But no, we did not take any action there.
I'm curious, Frank, if customers are waiting for new generations of cars that come from you. You have, you know, personally a great history out of Germany, out of Stuttgart, and there's pretty high expectations for what you can do with this brand. A lot of the vehicles you're selling are fantastic cars obviously, really works of art and engineering masterpieces. But do you see anybody waiting for the first wallacer cars to come out of Bentley.
If you want to call it like that. Yes, people are already asking and waiting for it, and I have to ask for a little bit of more patients. But it's on the way. The first car will come, and we're already talking with customers, not with media, but with customers. We are talking about some ideas we haven't projects we have started, and there's a lot of excitement. I can tell you, very very positive feedback.
I know you're there with my good friend Hannah Elliott. She's my co host on our podcast Bloomberg Hot Pursuit, and she and I recently went to Lamar. It was exciting, and a lot more manufacturers are getting involved, not just in world endurance car racing, but in motorsport in general. It's become really important, I think, to the car buying public, especially at the level where you're playing. Does Bentley have any aspirations to get involved, to get back into you know,
especially the Lamal series. Is I think of Bentley when I think of that series.
Well, Bentley has in general very wide and very long history, especially with Lemont more than hundred years involved their many many famous victories back in the twenties, but then also the famous victory in two thousand and three when the brand was kind of relaunched and got more established by itself split with the siblings. So there's a rich heritage, and for sure motorsport always played an important role in it.
Un As you say, more and more com manufacturers are entering and motorsport is a very important part also of the brand image of a company, and that fits for sure also to Bentley. On the other hand, we have to make business decisions we have. It's all about also timing to get the right timing to enter motorsport, because it's also clear if you have fifteen brands going to Lemon,
you're number sixteen. You share everything with fifteen others. So when it's the right timing, when it's the right technology, and also you need serious money to raise in Lemont, and this equation has to be solved. And then we'll see. We have no plans for the moment, but it's not that we say no, we would never talk on something like that.
All right, well, we look forward to it, Frank, and I hope you have a fantastic weekend at Monterey Carr week at the Quail Now and Pebble Beach Leader, Frank Stephen Wallacer, Bentley Motors Chairman and CEO