Bentley Motors Limited was founded by W. O. Bentley on 18th January 1919 in Cricklewood near London. Based in Crewe, the company engineers, manufactures and distributes luxury cars and car parts across the world.
Rolls-Royce Limited purchased the company for the sum of £125,000 in November 1931, after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 caused the Great Depression which had greatly affected Bentley's business.
The company's Cricklewood factory was closed and sold on, and consequently production was halted for two years, until it resumed at the Rolls-Royce works in Derbyshire.
In October 1997, BMW AG was outbid by Volkswagen AG for the purchase of Rolls-Royce Motors for £430 million. After the purchase, Volkswagen invested £500 million into the Crewe factory, by modernising it and increasing the production capacity. In early 2010, the company employed 3,500 people, compared with 1,500 people before the German car manufacturer took over.
It is estimated that Volkswagen have spent nearly $2 billion on Bentley and the company's revival to date.
In 2002, to celebrate her Golden Jubilee, Bentley presented Queen Elizabeth II with an official State Limousine.