LONDON -- About one in four Bentley vehicles were sold in the Chinese market in 2012, British luxury car maker Bentley Motors announced on Tuesday.

According to the financial results Bentley announced in London, the company achieved a year-on-year global growth of 22 percent with 8510 cars delivered to customers in 2012.

The United States remained Bentley's largest market, with 2457 sales in 2012. China kept the title of the second largest market for Bentley, with 2253 deliveries, up by 23 percent compared with 2011. Britain ranked third with 1187 cars delivered.

"Our performance in 2012 and in the beginning of 2013 underlines Bentley's position as the leading manufacturer of luxury vehicles and a truly global brand. Through sound investment and product planning, we now have our strongest model line-up ever and are increasing our market share," said Wolfgang Schreiber, Bentley's Chairman and CEO.

Bentley also made a strong start from the beginning of this year. Deliveries to customers grew by 39.5 percent in the first two months of 2013.