On the 19th local time, at the Bentley plant in Crewe, a small town in northwest England. As we stepped into the car seat line, the cheerful whirring of sewing machines, "drrrk, drrrk," filled our ears. In front of workbenches stacked with spools in dozens of colors, employees were stitching seats, one stitch at a time. It was a sight you would not see in a typical car factory where robot arms move busily. Even more striking, the material and color of each seat, and even the stitch pattern, differed from worker to worker.
Bentley, ranked with Rolls-Royce and Maybach among the "world's top three luxury cars," is Britain's premier handcrafted automaker. Unlike other brands that operate production bases around the world, every Bentley is born only here at the Crewe plant. The factory, with 1,000 employees, produces just 700 cars a year. Wayne Bruce, a Bentley director, said, "It takes only five hours to make a Qashqai, a popular model in Britain, but a Bentley takes 10 times as long."
The reason production takes so long is that most processes are done by hand. Only two robots, "Romeo" and "Juliet," work in this plant. Introduced 10 years ago, they handle only two tasks: painting interior panels and fitting windscreens. Director Bruce said, "Everything apart from those two jobs is done by hand," adding, "Using more robots would cut costs, but that would not align with the brand identity of 'handcraft' and is not what customers want."
◇ From interior materials to seats, tailored to taste… the "industrialization" of handcraft
The reason Bentley insists on handcraft is to realize "Mulliner," the industry's top-level personalization program. Bentley customers can freely reflect their preferences starting with interior materials. The most expensive wood panel we saw that day was sourced from a 5,500-year-old oak. Customers can apply their preferred colors to it to decorate the dashboard. There are no limits on materials. They can choose stone or carbon, among others. Recently, some have even asked for "eco-friendly leather" for the seats.
Bentley CEO Frank-Steffen Walliser said in an interview that day, "Spec'ing a Bentley is not a simple transaction," adding, "Customers visit the Crewe plant in person, sit down with designers to examine materials, and configure every vehicle specification one by one." In one case, after touring the plant, a customer reportedly added about $500,000 (about 760 million won) worth of options on the spot. Walliser said, "There was even a customer who scrapped and reconfigured the spec four times, and that entire process is part of the joy."
Once choices such as seat leather and finishes are complete, customers move to the "engine marriage" area, where the engine and body come together. They check that their ordered car is being built correctly. Bentley assembles engines and bodies custom-ordered from Volkswagen. On the workbench that day, the 4.0L V8 (eight-cylinder) engine of the large sedan Flying Spur was being readied to meet the body. Director Bruce said, "Every part carries the customer's name tag."
Bentley takes pride in having "industrialized" this exacting personalization process rather than confining it to a traditional atelier approach. Walliser said, "The Crewe plant is a highly industrialized premium production facility operated on precisely defined processes," adding, "The right craftsmanship is applied to the right car, in the right color, at the right timing to ultimately deliver a highly finished vehicle."
◇ Heavy investment in the plant for electrification… "Craftsmanship and digitalization work together"
Bentley customers' personalization demands are becoming ever more advanced. In response, Bentley is considering formalizing a level of customization beyond Mulliner. Walliser said, "Over the past five years, the scale of personalization applied per vehicle has steadily increased each year, so there is ample need to formalize a higher tier of bespoke," adding, "If there is strong demand and passion, we will certainly find a way to meet it."
That does not mean Bentley clings only to craftsmanship. It is boldly refitting its plant in step with electrification. To unveil its first all-electric model in September, Bentley has made large-scale investments, including installing three production lines in A1, the oldest building at the Crewe site. It has also added a new design center, an integrated logistics center, and a state-of-the-art paint shop.
Walliser emphasized, "At the Crewe plant, craftsmanship and digitalization are not opposing concepts; they work together within a single organic system," adding, "In every aspect—including the battery production system, manufacturing methods, and the data flow accumulated in the vehicle during R&D—we have been completely upgraded and have reached a very modern and advanced level." He added, "The core elements that make Bentley 'Bentley-like' remain intact in the cars, so I believe this balance has by no means been broken."