Duerheimer, who took charge of the Volkswagen-owned luxury marque on June 1, told reporters in London that previous sales estimates had proved too optimistic.

"Maybe the forecast from last year and the beginning of this year was too aggressive, but I still predict double-digit (sales volume) growth in 2014," he said, adding that the first half of the year's 61 percent sales growth in China, Daimler's second-biggest market, was always going to be difficult to maintain.

Bentley had said that 2014 was on course to be the brand's best year after first-half sales rose by almost a quarter to 5,254 saloons, coupes and convertibles, thanks to demand from China and the Middle East.

Though the carmaker has not made public its previous production forecast, it has said it expected sales to reach 15,000 in 2018, including a new sport-utility vehicle (SUV) that Bentley plans to launch in 2016.

Factors behind the lowering of expectations for this year include a smaller increase in demand from China and the impact from the crisis in Ukraine and Russia, Duerheimer said.

But the former R&D chief at VW's Audi and Porsche premium divisions, now in his second stint at Britain-based Bentley, said that full-year volumes, turnover and profit would still be up on 2013, which saw the carmaker post the highest sales and profit in its 95-year history.

Duerheimer said that about 700 of Bentley's 3,700 workers at a factory in Crewe, central England, would not work on Fridays for several weeks from the autumn until Christmas to reflect the projected cut in volumes on the Continental model line.

NEW SHOWROOMS

Despite the slightly more conservative estimates, Bentley said it aims to broaden the brand's appeal and reach with new dealerships in some of its biggest markets from North America to Asia, including plush new showrooms in the likes of Dubai, Shanghai and Munich.

Moscow, too, has been earmarked for one of the new dealerships, with the company as yet undaunted by the threat of tougher EU and U.S. sanctions against Russia and some of its wealthy businessmen in response to the Ukraine crisis.

Bentley will also enter new markets including Vietnam, Morocco, Israel and Chile, while spending about 800 million pounds until 2016 on its British headquarters and the development of new models.

Duerheimer said that once the company's first SUV goes on sale in the first half of 2016, he will then seek to push forward with plans for another new model.

"With the R&D department at full steam right now, I want to keep the momentum once they are through their SUV project and run immediately into the next model line," he said.

Though the next step has yet to be decided, Duerheimer said he has two possibilities in mind.

A new model could fit in between the marque's Continental cars, which include coupes and convertibles, and the more expensive Mulsanne line, including limousines, the CEO said, adding that a new two-seat model could also be an option.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; Writing by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Kirsti Knolle and David Goodman)