The credit crunch is beginning to unnerve even the super-rich and is hitting their spending, according to the maker of one of the world's most expensive cars.

Franz-Josef Paefgen, chief executive of Bentley, said that the global financial turmoil was starting to take a toll of sales of the luxury car in the United States, Bentley's biggest market.

Usually cars in the super-luxury division, such as Bentley and its former stablemate Rolls-Royce, are seen as less vulnerable to economic swings because buyers are the very wealthy who are less cost-sensitive.

However, Dr Paefgen said that Bentley, which is owned by Volkswagen, was experiencing a slowing in demand in two key parts of America.

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If the slowdown that has emerged in the states of California and New York proves to be significant, it could have serious implications for the production of Bentley cars, which are made in Crewe, Cheshire.

Bentley sells about 45 per cent of its annual output of 10,000 cars in the US.

Dr Paefgen, who is also the head of technical research for VW, said: “We are much more afraid of the worldwide banking crisis than we are CO2.”

Emissions of CO2 have been the biggest issue weighing on the car industry, particularly makers of large cars, in the recent past.

Dr Paefgen said that Bentley would look at altering production levels if necessary. He said: “You always have to prepare for negative trends.”

Bentley estimates that about a third of its customers are in financial services, the sector first in line for job cuts in a global turndown.

A Bentley Arnage, the marque's top-of-the-range vehicle, costs between £170,000 and £230,000 for the Brooklands coupé version. The Continental, a sporty and cheaper model, starts at £120,500.

Bentley has fuelled considerable expansion through the success of the Continental and now produces ten times as many cars as Rolls-Royce.

Bentley's warning about the credit crunch comes as mainstream carmakers struggle with falling sales in North America and Western Europe. European sales figures for March showed sharp falls for virtually all leading carmakers.

Even a usually resilient brand such as Toyota registered a sharp fall of more than 17 per cent. The Western European market in general fell more than 10 per cent last month.

Industry observers fear that carmakers may be in for a bruising time because car purchases are often put on hold in difficult times and because they usually require financing.

However, although Bentley is concerned about parts of the important US market, it is finding cheer in growing markets such as China and Russia. It is looking to increase its dealerships in Moscow and St Petersburg.

Bentley recently took a surprise 28percent stake in HR Owen, the upmarket London dealership. The move was seen as a way of protecting the dealership from hostile takeover.

Bentley's German parent is investing in developing technologies to cut emissions as the market and governments consider to tackle vehicle pollution. VW has stakes in two biofuel companies and is developing hybrid technology.

Dr Paefgen said that the contribution to CO2 emissions from Bentley, whose cars have large engines, was “totally negligible”.

However, he said that carmakers would focus on new technologies because of the eventual shortage of fossil fuels.

“The shortage of fossil fuels will happen far earlier than a real change in global warming,” he said.

“It will happen in the next 50 years.”

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