Bentley Motors has denied selling luxury vehicles to Russia’s neighbours, following Sky News analysis the UK exported £273m of cars to Azerbaijan last year.
British car exports to Russia have fallen to zero following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when the shipment of high-end automobiles was banned.
This ban has since been followed by a corresponding increase in car exports to countries neighbouring Russia, most notably Azerbaijan.
On Wednesday 13 March, Bentley Motors denied failing to comply with the 2022 export sanctions to Russia (Wiki Commons).
Sky News analysis, based on official HMRC trade data, found the UK exported £273m of vehicles to Azerbaijan last year, a 1,860 per cent increase compared with the five-year period before the invasion.
This was of a similar figure to the annual car exports to Russia in the two years before the imposition of sanctions, which averaged £330m.
In analysis of UN international trade data, over the exact same period Britain recorded an unprecedented increase in car exports to Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan recorded an unprecedented increase in car exports to Russia.
On Wednesday 13 March, Bentley Motors denied failing to comply with the 2022 export sanctions to Russia.
A Bentley spokesperson told Nub News: “We are committed to full compliance with all current and future trade sanctions.
“There is no evidence to suggest a lack of compliance with existing sanctions, or indeed a change of sales trend in Azerbaijan.
The UK exported £273m of vehicles to Azerbaijan last year, a 1,860 per cent increase compared with the five-year period before the invasion, which Bentley denies being a part of (Bentley Motors).
“We ceased operations in Russia in March 2022.”
Government data, collected by the HMRC on all goods leaving the country, do not constitute proof the luxury cars ended up in Russia.
It is impossible to track each British consignment once it has left port, especially once it has arrived at a third country.
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