The alarmingly high rate of crime in places like South America or Russia is indeed a horrible thing, but it also creates new business opportunities for security firms, and of course car makers. The demand for armored luxury vehicles has been on a constant rise this past couple of years. So much so that Bentley is considering making a new division specializing in armored cars.
Seeing as you cannot put a price on personal safety and security, the armored cars market is a niche with huge potential for making big bucks. Right now it is mostly the aftermarket specialists reaping the revenue by taking normal luxury cars and making them bullet and RPG-proof. But if car makers like Bentley decide to make their own cars, that will definitely upset the status quo.
Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, Russia, China and the Middle East are potential markets for armored Bentley’s. The British company is currently studying the viability of getting into this business. They need to sell more cars and make more profit, and this sounds like a good way of accomplishing that goal.
via Guardian